Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui｜Chinese Culture Festival 2026: HKCO: Thousand Reeds, One Universe

Description

A cultural exploration that combines listening, seeing and participation, “Thousand Reeds, One Universe” elevates the sheng from a musical instrument to a multi-dimensional code connecting humans with the future. Embarking from Hong Kong, this concert invites the audience to appreciate a musical tradition that reverberates with ancient Chinese wisdom. From Northern Shanxi tune-types to surviving Tang-dynasty sheng artefacts now in the Shosoin Repository, from bamboo lushengs of Guizhou and Guangxi to the majestic organs of Europe—within one concert, the entire spectrum of the world’s reed instruments comes to the fore. The improvisatory nature of the Jew’s harp, Tang-dynasty charm of the Japanese shō, southern legacy of the Thai khaen and symphonic nature of the modern keyed sheng share the stage side by side. Rather than fusing together, wiping away boundaries, they engage in dialogue while preserving differences. For the concert finale—“One Breath, One World”—the conductor turns around and directs the audience, leading everyone to hum together, and the resultant tranquility infiltrates the orchestral texture. The sheng is no longer an instrument to be played, but an active medium connecting all who inhale and exhale. The reed represents an entire world, and a thousand shengs create universal harmony.