The Strad: Postcard from Hong Kong: Musicus Fest
Cross-cultural and intergenerational exchange is the engine that drives cellist Trey Lee’s Musicus Fest, as Thomas May discovered at its eleventh edition
Cloud-piercing skyscrapers nestled amid sea, mountains and lush green spaces: Hong Kong is a captivating marvel of stunning yet harmonious contrasts. This densely populated, cosmopolitan metropolis surrounded by the South China Sea is best known as a financial hub and magnet for shoppers and culinary adventurers.
It’s also an environment particularly well suited to Musicus Society’s mission of promoting cross-cultural collaboration. ‘“East meets West” might be a cliché elsewhere, but in Hong Kong, it is literally what happens,’ said cellist Trey Lee, artistic director of the Hong Kong society he co-founded with his sister Chui-Inn Lee in 2010. ‘This may even be the original East-meets-West centre of the world.’
The Strad
By Thomas May
Cross-cultural and intergenerational exchange is the engine that drives cellist Trey Lee’s Musicus Fest, as Thomas May discovered at its eleventh edition
Cloud-piercing skyscrapers nestled amid sea, mountains and lush green spaces: Hong Kong is a captivating marvel of stunning yet harmonious contrasts. This densely populated, cosmopolitan metropolis surrounded by the South China Sea is best known as a financial hub and magnet for shoppers and culinary adventurers.
It’s also an environment particularly well suited to Musicus Society’s mission of promoting cross-cultural collaboration. ‘“East meets West” might be a cliché elsewhere, but in Hong Kong, it is literally what happens,’ said cellist Trey Lee, artistic director of the Hong Kong society he co-founded with his sister Chui-Inn Lee in 2010. ‘This may even be the original East-meets-West centre of the world.’
Although he has long been based in Berlin, Lee is also a musical thought leader who maintains tight connections with his native Hong Kong. He resolved to establish Musicus Society as a result of his personal experience studying abroad (initially in the US, subsequently across Europe). ‘One thing that always struck me when I worked with other musicians or won competitions was that nobody was expecting to meet a cellist from Hong Kong,’ Lee explained during my visit. ‘Hong Kong has so many young people studying classical music; I think the world needs to know that the city is not just a business and finance capital.’
Read more here.
South China Morning Post: ‘Elite’ string ensemble a showcase for Hong Kong’s musical talent, says founder Trey Lee
On November 26, a Hong Kong string ensemble will make its debut at Musicus Fest’s 10th anniversary concert, a celebration of classical music launched in the city in 2013 by the cellist Trey Lee.
The ensemble, Musicus Soloists Hong Kong, intends to help its young members stand out as individual performers and nurture their careers, according to Lee.
For the past 10 years, as well as staging the Musicus Fest, Lee’s Musicus Society charity has tirelessly championed home-grown talent and taken classical music to Hong Kong schools through education programmes, the commissioning of new works and concerts around the world.
South China Morning Post
By Enid Tsui
On November 26, a Hong Kong string ensemble will make its debut at Musicus Fest’s 10th anniversary concert, a celebration of classical music launched in the city in 2013 by the cellist Trey Lee.
The ensemble, Musicus Soloists Hong Kong, intends to help its young members stand out as individual performers and nurture their careers, according to Lee.
For the past 10 years, as well as staging the Musicus Fest, Lee’s Musicus Society charity has tirelessly championed home-grown talent and taken classical music to Hong Kong schools through education programmes, the commissioning of new works and concerts around the world.
Read more here.
Meet The Artist: Trey Lee, Cellist
Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?
Without a doubt, Pau (Pablo) Casals has been a major inspiration for multiple reasons. His playing has always sounded like someone singing and speaking at the same time, which is what I am constantly trying to achieve in my own playing; I find that a musician who can do both has a much greater ability to keep a listener’s attention. Much is also said about his interpretations being irresistibly astute. Whether or not you agree with his ideas, much of this comes down to his courage to play everything with total commitment.
Meet The Artist
The Cross-Eyed Pianist
Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?
Without a doubt, Pau (Pablo) Casals has been a major inspiration for multiple reasons. His playing has always sounded like someone singing and speaking at the same time, which is what I am constantly trying to achieve in my own playing; I find that a musician who can do both has a much greater ability to keep a listener’s attention. Much is also said about his interpretations being irresistibly astute. Whether or not you agree with his ideas, much of this comes down to his courage to play everything with total commitment. Why courage? I think it’s because as artists, we are terrified that once we have made a musical decision that can reveal the essence of who we are, we will be judged by it forever (particularly so on a recording). However, Casals’s significance beyond his solo career is what has continued to inspire me over the years. While concertizing as the foremost cello soloist of his time, he also undertook a number of endeavours that have continued to influence the world of music.
Read more here.
The Strad: ‘Art has the ability to make one look at the world from a different perspective’ - cellist Trey Lee
The cellist and artistic director of Musicus, a Hong-Kong based organisation which promotes cross-cultural collaboration through performances, speaks about musical outreach, exploring new repertoire, and overcoming the challenges of travelling with a cello.
Musicus Society was founded to connect musicians from around the world with young talents from Hong Kong. The city has always had a huge proportion of young people who played a musical instrument (easily more than 50%), but not many had the chance to perform or interact with the visiting artists whom they saw performing on stage; rather, many just practised to pass an exam - a process that anyone would find musically uninspiring. Therefore, Musicus Society created three main programmes to address this situation: Musicus Fest, an annual festival; Musicus Inspires, an educational programme; and Musicus Heritage, a concert series in historic sites.
The Strad
The cellist and artistic director of Musicus, a Hong-Kong based organisation which promotes cross-cultural collaboration through performances, speaks about musical outreach, exploring new repertoire, and overcoming the challenges of travelling with a cello
Musicus Society was founded to connect musicians from around the world with young talents from Hong Kong. The city has always had a huge proportion of young people who played a musical instrument (easily more than 50%), but not many had the chance to perform or interact with the visiting artists whom they saw performing on stage; rather, many just practised to pass an exam - a process that anyone would find musically uninspiring. Therefore, Musicus Society created three main programmes to address this situation: Musicus Fest, an annual festival; Musicus Inspires, an educational programme; and Musicus Heritage, a concert series in historic sites.
Being artistic director sometimes feels like being a CEO. We have a great team at Musicus, but alas, the buck still stops with me. For example, when I suggested holding concerts in historic sites in Hong Kong, it was just wishful thinking because performance spaces in the city are so scarce. When it actually happened, many things needed to be done, including programming, research into historic sites, artist selection, etc. But I must admit that it has been truly gratifying whenever a young Hong Kong musician tells me that their first ’professional’ experience was with Musicus Society.
Read more here.