How do artists embrace the collision of cultures in an international city? Korean theatre administrator Setbyul Kim and local musician Patrick Lui, both experienced professionals, have chosen to return to school. The two master's degree students distil the diversity of their cultural setting in Hong Kong and at the Academy into nutrients for their art.
Setbyul Kim, who goes by Stella, is a part-time student working towards a Master's in Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Arts and Event Management at the Academy's School of Theatre and Entertainment Arts. A graduate of the Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts) in arts management, Stella worked for the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts and the Korean National Ballet before moving to Hong Kong with her husband in 2015. In the ensuing years, Stella focused on raising her two children. Now that they are older, she feels it is time to work again.
"My dream is to be an independent producer of theatre for children and youth, and work with Hong Kong artists," she says. But first, she senses she must deepen her knowledge and verse herself in local cultural practices. "Though I'm no stranger to theatre management, being a Korean who had only worked in Korea, I'm not familiar with the local scene," she concedes. "I also want to improve my English and Cantonese, so I decided to pursue an MFA at the Academy."
Stella's graduation thesis will focus on children and youth theatre. Making good productions that appeal to the younger set is something she feels strongly about. "When I was young, I watched a stage performance that really impressed me," she remembers. "It was by no means perfect, but it blew me away. I was hooked."
While researching an essay at the Academy, she came across a theory that she very much supports – that young audience members are shaped by their first taste of a stage performance, which has a huge impact on whether they will like such performances later on. "Most people's first trip to the theatre occurred in childhood or adolescence," she notes. "If they didn't like it, next time they are invited, they'll say, 'I'd rather watch a movie.' However, while there are plenty of excellent works for adults, the same cannot be said of productions for the young. That's why I want to make the production for the future audience."
Opening Doors for the Young
Good producers need to understand their audience. Stella has been taking courses in arts therapy and art education at the Hanyang Cyber University since 2021, and now she is an intern at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, thanks to Ian Leung. Ian is a producer at Cultural Masseur, an audience-development campaign at the arts centre that involves guided tours, talks, workshops, internships and apprenticeships, not to mention the making of art itself. At the end of last semester, he approached May Au, the Academy's Deputy Head of Technical Production and Management and Senior Lecturer in Stage and Event Management, offering an opportunity for internship with the Hong Kong Arts Centre at Cultural Masseur. Stella expressed interest, and May recommended her. "Ian knows my English and Chinese are not perfect for working, although I have Korean experience in the area," Stella says. "I'm now interning at an exchange programme for young artists from Korea and Hong Kong thanks to Ian and May's support. I like to open doors for the young, so they can make things happen. I believe this is where my talent lies."
Stella is eager to get to know more schoolmates, but she is impressed so far. "Did you know many Academy students can speak Korean?" she asks. "When I attended the orientation, which was conducted in Cantonese, I didn't need an interpreter because the students interpreted for me. They speak English, Cantonese, Putonghua and Korean very well." She is currently in the second semester of her master's, and looking to mix more with the younger schoolmates. "I really want to meet the undergraduates and make acquaintance with industry professionals."
Stella says her studies at the Academy have emboldened her to expand her social sphere. "It takes time to adapt to the lifestyle of a new city," she says, "but Hong Kong is a fascinating city. I love exploring the neighbourhoods and meeting people. I used to just meet the international families from my husband's company or the parents from my children's international school, but after joining the Academy, I'm more confident in meeting locals. They speak English better than I do, so I'm not worried about communication. I want to learn about their culture; they want to understand mine. They love Korea. I love Hong Kong."
Writing Hong Kong Jazz
When a Hong Konger says, "I love Hong Kong," they are likely expressing more than feelings. There's some sense of mission towards their home. Those attuned to the local music scene must have heard of Patrick Lui – keyboardist, composer, arranger, and producer. Patrick also has his own jazz band.
Why does a musician who already wears so many hats want to further his studies at the Academy? "The reasons are many," he explains. "Creatively speaking, I want to explore whether I can infuse jazz with the features of Hong Kong musical culture. As you know, different countries all have their unique brand of jazz." The United States is the birthplace of jazz, of course, but Brazil has bossa nova, France has gypsy jazz, Cuba has Afro-Cuban jazz, and so on. "As jazz spreads around the globe, it draws on local music, which gives rise to new styles," he says.
Patrick began learning classical music from a young age. Around the age of 15, the thought of making music occurred to him, which sowed the seeds for jazz composition. However, Patrick didn't choose to pursue music after secondary school and instead started studying computer programming at the Hong Kong Baptist University. After one year of study, he realised he lacked passion for this profession.
"My classmates would continue to explore programming topics after school, but I simply wasn't interested the way I was in music," he explains. "I therefore transferred to the Department of Music in Year 2." After graduation, Patrick went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston to study jazz. During those four years, he got to know some of the world's top musicians, and their work.
"American music schools have a very different vibe from Hong Kong's," he says. "Berklee offers an eclectic assortment of programmes, faculty and students have diverse backgrounds from all over the world. The infusion of cultures stimulates creative and intellectual sparks."
The Limits of Book Learning
After returning to Hong Kong, Patrick found that his career developed smoothly. In 2020, he won a scholarship from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund, and became a student in the Master of Music programme at the Academy. "I had considered different music schools prior to applying," he says. "Some research-oriented ones do not offer many opportunities for students to showcase their works in concerts. The Academy's forte is in the large numbers of musicians here, including excellent ones of traditional Chinese music. Collaborating and interacting with them is excellent training."
Patrick says that although he is an introvert, the School has enabled him to open up socially. "I major in composition," he says. "Orchestral performance requires a conductor, hence I got to know conducting majors, some of whom turn out to like jazz too. We've had many great exchanges."
Knowledge exchange is important to any part of the learning process. Before moving to the United States, Patrick says he tried to learn jazz himself through the books published by Berklee. But this experience revealed the limitations of self-learning. When he took up his studies at Berklee, professors used some of the same books to explain concepts. That process of inquiry and discourse shone a light on many theories that had baffled him in the past.
"I enjoy face-to-face interaction with teachers, musicians, and classmates in the school," he says. "Asking questions and discussing are crucial for learning." Professor Clarence Mak, the Academy's Professor of Music in Composition, often discusses different topics in making music creatively with Patrick. "Professor Mak is also the teacher of computer music," Patrick says. "Composing electronic music requires some knowledge of computer programming. Who would have known that those concepts and modes of thinking I had learnt would come in handy now?"
Patrick has just finished the two-year Master's programme, but he believes his learning doesn't stop here. "It is no way to become an expert in two years," he insists. "That said, the teachers at the Academy have opened many doors for me. I got to know a lot of great music and great composers who have enriched my works."
Looking ahead, Patrick hopes to integrate different musical genres by fusing Chinese, Western classical and jazz stylings, and to bring Hong Kong-style music to the world stage. "This is something I've always wanted to do," he says. "Now that my creative spectrum has been broadened, I'll try to bring music with local characteristics, music that belongs to Hong Kong, to different parts of the world."
(The article was published in the Jul 2022 issue of Academy News. Click here to read the original story.)
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