Bulletin Vol. 8 No. 8 Mar 1972

The Ensemble has also broadcast ove r Radio Hong Kong, and will soon make T V appearances. Apart f r om the making of music, a good enough end in itself, the purpose of the performances of this group is to familiarise the general public and the College students w i th the beauties of the chamber music repertoire, so that a more general interest may be developed amongst the young people of Hong Kong. Equipped Premises One of the important developments of the Music Department is that it now has its own premises to accommodate its various activities. The Library of Chung Chi College has recentl y moved into its new building, and the old building is being converted specially for the use of the Music Department. For the first time the Department has the use of its own equipped premises. The building will have offices for the staff, t wo lecture rooms, t wo classrooms, a fairly large rehearsal room w i th t wo six-foot grand pianos in it and w i th a display of Chinese instruments in specially designed cabinets, six small practice rooms, and a library and listening room, in which there will be nine carrels for the use o f the students. The students will also have a room for their own use, w i th individual lockers for their books and scores. A l t hough a generous su m has been provided by the University and the College for the conversion of this building, it will not be enough to complete the project, and the Department will still be short of various types o f equipment. The building also needs to be air-conditioned in order to keep the instruments, scores and records in good order. Chinese Music With the gradual expansion of the staff to meet the needs of th e community, the active participation and contribution of the staff members to the wo r ld of music in Hong Ko ng and the imminent completion of its own equipped premises, the Department often asks itself those soul-searching questions: what will make the Department unique and distinct f r om others? what can the Department contribute to the study of Music and the wo r ld at large? what can the Department offer to the visiting scholars who come to Hong Ko ng and to this University? The answer seems to lie in the p r omo t i on of the study of Chinese Music. Hong Ko ng is at the vantage point where East meets West, Chinese music can be studied at first hand an d vast hidden potentialities can be explored. The Department feels that expertise can be developed among its staff so that a systematic study of Chinese music can be gradually formed which will play an important role in cultura l interchange. With this objective i n mind, a Chinese Music Symposium was held on 5th and 6th October, 1971, in the City Hall in celebration of the Twentieth Anniversary o f Chung Chi College. A generous contribution f r om The Asia Foundation enabled the Department to invite five music professors and musicians f r om Taiwan for the Symposium. Four lectures in Mandarin were given and the composers' discussion was concluded w i th the conviction that the time had come for modern Chinese composers to a f f i rm their ow n heritage while at the same time taking into account development s in modern Western music. The t wo concerts on the evenings of 6th and 7th October were very wel l attended. Included in the first concert were a Cantonese puppet-play, Swatow music, and ensembles of modern Chinese music. The second concert included solos an d duets for pi-pa, ch'in, cheng, and hsiao and concluded w i th modernized, semi-popular orchestral music. The Symposium, together w i th a College Assembly programme of Chinese Musi c by the participants from Taiwan, provided impetus for the Department towards a comprehensive programme in Chinese Music. The Department continues to encourage the study o f Chinese Music, and all full-time students must take t wo courses in th e final year: The History of Chinese Music, and the playin g of a Chinese musical instrument. It also offers an elective course in Chinese Music Literature. This programme will expand over the years, and it is intended in time to offer a major in Chinese music, and in the end to have a division in non-European music w i t h in the Department. A Chinese music specialist i s soon to be appointed whose du ty will be mainly to help build up the Chinese Music curriculum, and the Department hopes to be able to offer a minor i n Chinese music in 1974. (see also picture in Chinese section) — 5 —