CHAN Kai-young

Through orchestral, chamber and mixed media, Chan Kai-young integrates nuance, relevance and resonance in music that converses with societies and cultures. He is particularly drawn to the implied musicality of Chinese texts expressed through the tonal Cantonese language. His music has been performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, PRISM Quartet, Daedalus Quartet and Mivos Quartet, among others. With awards from international competitions, his music has also been presented at festivals including ISCM World Music Days, International Rostrum of Composers, June in Buffalo and Havana Contemporary Music Festival. Selected works have been released on Ablaze Records, PARMA Recordings and Innova Recordings, with scores published by Edition Peters (London). After completing his PhD in Music Composition at the University of Pennsylvania, he joined the composition faculty of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Commissions and grants from the Research Grants Council, Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong, and other institutions have supported his on-going projects exploring how text-setting constraints in Cantonese can be turned into creativity in contemporary music.