Going for a song - chamber choir's ambitious target
Chamber choir Die Konzertisten achieves high-quality performanceson a shoestring, writes Sam Olluver
You may not be familiar with the name Die Konzertisten or even know what it means, but if Kenneth Lee Kun-fai has his way, the chamber choir he founded five years ago will soon be impressing itself on Hong Kong's mainstream arts scene alongside the better-known classical music ensembles.
It was in 2008 that Lee scattered the first seeds of an idea among his friends, many of whom were members of larger ensembles, such as opera choruses and youth choirs. Lee, a business management graduate who sings tenor with the choir, recalls their consensus of opinion: "Why don't we form a chamber choir and do something smaller scale that requires more delicate and refined singing?"
Although that milieu required an exceptional quality of voice, a high level of musicianship and a long-term commitment, a core of singers was already to hand: a number of the choir's founding members had already sung with illustrious British groups such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir, several Cambridge University college choirs and St Paul's Cathedral Choir in London.
And so to the choice of name: Die Konzertisten. These were the singers in J.S. Bach's time who were entrusted with the demanding solo parts in church choral music. The new ensemble felt it was up to those expectations and christened itself accordingly. The choir's subsequent participation in the 2011 Hong Kong Arts Festival fittingly saw them perform Bach's six motets in different churches around the city.
The name of the choir is in some measure a misnomer, in that solo quality should not predominate over vocal blend: "It's important for members of the choir to have good voices," says Lee, "but not big egos, thinking they are solo singers and not primarily part of an ensemble."
He says that with the availability of such talent being self-evident, it is hard to fathom why both locals and outsiders have a negative and unjustifiable impression of the city's choral scene - that standards are mediocre and likely to stay at sub-international level in perpetuity.
We hope we can establish ourselves as one of the recognised chamber choirs in Asia, such as the Taipei Chamber Singers or the many fine choirs in Japan
"The general atmosphere in Hong Kong is that the government or, let's say, the music authorities, do not think there are good choirs in Hong Kong. Among those organisations receiving long-term government grants there are no choirs," Lee says, referring to a group of art organisations including the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Ballet and Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, which are known unofficially as the Big Nine.
"There are orchestras, dance and theatre groups, but choirs receive smaller project grants. The authorities put effort into cultivating youth choirs through education projects, but provide nothing beyond that with a long-term commitment," Lee says.
With quality vocal resources on tap, the two issues facing the choir's development are artistic directorship and finance. With a mixture of ages that includes a small expatriate presence, there are about 45 singers on the choir's books, with between 30 and 35 performers appearing at any given concert.
Hong Kong's demanding work ethic and professional fluidity means that exactly the same line-up cannot be guaranteed for each concert. This raises the issue of whether payment for the singers' services could ever be viable to secure such reliability, compensating people for the significant sacrifices in time they would need to make in order to step into the semi-professional league.
The choir has received a number of one-off project grants from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, which have been put to good use. Notable among them was a performance of Bach's Mass in B minor in 2011 under the direction of Helmut Rilling, the veteran German conductor and expert in Bach's music. For that occasion, the choir received a grant of HK$120,000, "but with an orchestra to hire, with a conductor to bring in from overseas and with several rehearsals, it is not enough to cover costs," says Lee.
A grant of HK$130,000 was awarded to fund the choir's Mozart Requiem project, held last September and directed by Stephen Layton, artistic director and principal conductor of the London Sinfonia and director of music at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Next on the engagement list of high-profile specialists is Jonathan Cohen, associate conductor of Les Arts Florissants, the exquisite baroque specialist ensemble founded by William Christie and based in Caen, France. He will direct the choir in Handel's in September.
Being able to attract conductors of such stature speaks for itself, but working with visiting directors on a one-off basis cannot be the norm. Local conductor Michael Ryan has worked regularly with the choir since its inception and will be fronting its three upcoming Hong Kong Arts Festival performances to be held at the Academy for Performing Arts (Saturday), Nan Lian Garden (February 26) and Yuen Long Theatre (March 16). In line with the choir's penchant for Renaissance, baroque, early classical and more contemporary repertoire, these concerts will be in the latter slot, dedicated as they are to works by Benjamin Britten. This year marks the centenary of the British composer's birth.
Following those engagements, however, Ryan is to become principal guest conductor, making way for the choir's new principal conductor, Felix Yeung, who has directed the choir in a number of major works in the past, including Bach's in 2011. The 25-year-old Hongkonger studied at Chinese University before completing a course in choral conducting at London's Royal Academy of Music and serving for two years as organ scholar at the Brompton Oratory.
With Yeung's appointment, a new chapter starts in the choir's development, so what aspirations does Lee have on behalf of the ensemble that might take them closer to the level of the Big Nine? "We hope we can establish ourselves as one of the recognised chamber choirs in Asia, such as the Taipei Chamber Singers or the many fine choirs in Japan. That is possible for us to achieve," the 35-year-old tenor says.
Co-operation is part of that plan, with discussions under way for an exchange programme with the Taipei choir, both in terms of inviting their conductor Chen Yun-hung to work with Die Konzertisten, and exploring the possibility of presenting joint concerts.
Past collaborations with orchestras have facilitated a wider repertoire and presented new opportunities. The choir has made several appearances with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, including a performance of Karl Jenkins' this time last year, which was conducted by the composer. The impression they made generated an invitation to take part in the composer's 70th birthday celebrations next January in New York.
"We may be the first choir ever from Hong Kong to sing in Carnegie Hall," Lee says. Which will hopefully take Die Konzertisten one step nearer to pushing the Big Nine into double digits.
