Young composers to perform their music on iPad tablets at e-concert in Hong Kong
- 120 students from six Hong Kong schools are performing as part of the e-Orch Music Creation and Performance in Practice Project
- They will play on iPads music they wrote in Apple app GarageBand, which lowers the barriers to music-making, the project’s creator, Michael Leung, explains
There won’t be any pianos, violins, flutes or bassoons at an upcoming concert; in fact, there will be no traditional musical instruments at all. Instead, 120 of Hong Kong’s young musicians have used electronics to create and play their melodies.
Divided into quartets, the students will perform their original compositions on July 10 at Tsuen Wan Town Hall’s exhibition gallery. In a break with tradition, each student will play his or her music on an electronic tablet.
The idea of using tablets and music apps such as GarageBand to compose and perform music comes from Michael Leung Chi-hin, creator and organiser of the e-Orch Music Creation and Performance in Practice Project, which began in 2017.
“Students only have to open GarageBand and they can play music together,” says Leung, vice- chairman of the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild and vice-president of the Hong Kong Association for Music Educators.
GarageBand, an IOS app, allows users of different skill levels to create music, he says, because “it lowers the barrier of music-making”. Tablets and apps help Leung realise his goal of encouraging everyone to compose music.
