Songs of Being
8 – 12,14 – 16.4 8:15pm – 9:30pm
11 – 12.4 3pm – 4:15pm
15 – 16.4 3pm – 4:15pm(Education)
JC Cube & F Hall Studio
HK$280
Remarks
- Duration: approximately 1 hour 15 minutes including a 15-minute interval
- No latecomers will be admitted
- Libretti in English with surtitles
- Recommended for ages 6 and above
- Audience is required to walk around various locations during the performance. Comfortable clothing is recommended and please assess your physical condition if it is suitable for participation
- Programmes are subject to change without prior notice. Tai Kwun reserves the right to make the final decision regarding the arrangements.
In the early days of the pandemic, I revisited Songs of Innocence and Experience. This literary classic presents a stark contrast between two aspects: it celebrates the purity of the spirit on one hand, while exposing the ugliness and hypocrisy of society on the other. For me, the entire collection teaches us how to find our way in this twisted and paradoxical era. Thus, we named the performance Songs of Being, where “Being” refers to our way of existing in the world. So how should we navigate the world? As a Romantic poet, Blake’s response is to return to nature, reclaiming the innocent spirit and achieving the state of “being in the world but not of the world.” This thought aligns seamlessly with Zhuangzi’s concept of “two forgettings.”
Songs of Innocence is typically seen as a manifestation of innocence and childhood, characterised by an optimistic and positive tone. However, through my repeated readings, the ideal world depicted in the poems seems perpetually out of reach, resembling a utopia that exists only in dreams. At the same time, Songs of Experience is not merely a brutal reflection of the real world. Thus, I envision the entire performance as a cyclical dream; this, again, echoes the Zhuangzi’s thoughts: Are the audience dreaming of the singers, or are the audience in the singers’ dream? (Is Zhuangzi dreaming of the butterfly, or is the butterfly dreaming of Zhuangzi?)
I selected seven poems from Songs of Innocence and seven from Songs of Experience as texts, then set them to music—fourteen new songs in total, arranged in seven pairs. Notably, I did not compose the fourteen songs as completely separate pieces; more often, I developed the two songs in a pair together. The intention is to find musical links between the two contrasting yet related poems so that they influence and illuminate one another. For example, the rhythmic idea in “The Tyger” relates to the phrase structure in “The Lamb,” and the melodies of the two “Chimney Sweeper” songs share common elements. Each pair can thus be heard as mutual variations, allowing listeners to perceive a two‑sided unity across different performance spaces.
The performance will begin with two poems about dreams, “A Dream” and “The Angel.” We will present distinct states and experiences across two spaces at Tai Kwun, using music, singing, and other media, guiding the audience to reflect on their relationship with society and the natural world. Although these two spaces are entirely different, they are interconnected, like two sides of a mirror, reflecting each other.
Daniel Lo
Artistic Concept, Composer & Music Director
Coexistence of Innocence and Experience: The Duality of Songs of Being
By Jan Wong
Since the chamber opera Two Ladies, Daniel Lo has been exploring different forms of vocal composition. During the pandemic, he revisited Songs of Innocence and of Experience by English poet William Blake. Deeply moved, he found the poems well suited as choral text. This began his quest to compose in a language other than Cantonese for the first time. “The most important thing was: how do we connect the text to the performing arts? How do we begin from the text, remain faithful to it, and design an enjoyable performance for the audience?”
Lo began looking for artists he admires to join the creative team, including Sanders Lau, co-creator and choral director of the chamber choir NOĒMA. As Songs of Innocence and of Experience comprises both poems and engraved prints, Lo felt the visual element could not be ignored and invited Keith Lam, co-founder of the arts and technology studio Dimension Plus, to collaborate. By coincidence, both Lau and Lam had prior connections to the poet’s work. As if warming up for this very production, the programme of NOĒMA’s concert Beyond The Sphere of Grief, held last January, included John Tavener’s The Lamb which is based on Blake’s poem of the same name. And Dimension Plus had been commissioned by the British Library to create Landscape of William Blake, a data visualisation of Blake’s works.
The trio’s first collaboration did not begin smoothly. After a meeting they later described as "frustrating", "heavy", and "going nowhere", Lo and Lam left together with mixed feelings. As they chatted during the car ride, there was a sudden moment of clarity and things finally clicked. Lo says, “As we want to convey the dualistic structure and aesthetics of the poems, why not have two groups of performers perform simultaneously in two different spaces?" The JC Cube represents “Innocence” while F Hall represents “Experience”. "This duality is just like the Upside Down in Stranger Things!" Lam adds.
The two spaces have distinct architectural styles and acoustic effects. JC Cube’s tone is "drier" whereas F Hall is more spacious with a pronounced reverberation that even reminded Lau of a church. JC Cube becomes the stage for “Innocence” since Lau finds it more suitable for NOĒMA’s choral texture, emphasising a blend of timbres as the four female singers forge a collective sound. In F Hall, two male singers take turns performing solos. Caleb Woo’s interpretation is more rhythmic, passionate, and dramatic: "Some of my interpretations resemble early music singing styles." While singing one-to-a-part in choral music may feel unfamiliar, "it still maintains the spirit of choral harmony." The programme’s title, Songs of Being, was Lau’s idea: “Innocence” and “Experience” only become meaningful when they coexist."
Long-Awaited Collaboration Built on Mutual Admiration
Lam used spatial and visual design to evoke the contrasting atmospheres of ‘’Innocence” and “Experience”. For the JC Cube, a park scene was set where female singers perform while on swings and slides. For Lam, a park captures the air of innocence. "Innocence is also about being 'guileless.'" But is this pure innocence “or an imagined utopia?" As for "Experience", a conveyor belt was placed in F Hall to echo the poetry’s references to the Industrial Revolution. "Even if a person remains still, he is moved by the conveyor belt. Appearing to move forward, one is actually at the same place or even moving backwards." Each section features a body part as its key visual element: ‘Innocence’ is the eye while ‘Experience’ is the hand. "We first engage with the world intuitively through our eyes." The visuals also embody the concept of duality—certain colours present on one section disappear on the other.
For the performance, they selected seven pairs of poems from Songs of Innocence and of Experience, totalling fourteen poems. Some titles like The Chimney Sweeper and Holy Thursday appear in both the Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Some are counterparts, such as The Lamb and The Tyger; and some share thematic links, such as A Dream and The Angel, or The Echoing Green and London.
Lo composed the pieces in pairs. "The materials from the two poems influence each other, such as melodic motifs, rhythms, and the electronic accompaniments." He also sought inspiration from the imagery within the poems, developing them in tandem. "For example, Holy Thursday is quite structured and classical in 'Innocence', but the textual structure gradually collapses in 'Experience'."
The three artists share deep mutual admiration and feel their meeting was long overdue. The collaboration is enjoyable—not working in isolation but by mutual exchange and interactions to achieve what they envisioned. “This is the best kind of creative process, ” Lo says. "I hope to design a space constructed from contemporary music, choral singing, and multimedia, allowing the audience to experience our interpretation of the text."
Artistic Concept, Composer & Music Director:
- Daniel Lo
Co-Creator, Director & Scenographer:
- Keith Lam
Co-Creator, Choral Director & Performer:
- Sanders Lau
Visual Arts:
- Seth Hon
Electronic Music:
- Lawrence Lau
Sound Designer:
- Allison Fong
Lighting Designer:
- TOMTOM
Assistant Stage Designer:
- Koei Leung
Performers:
- NOĒMA: Carmen Bat, Kenix Tsang, Winky Wong, Angela Yiu, Caleb Woo
Producer:
- Michael Lee
Marketing & Ticketing:
- Thalia Wong
Performers Management & Rehearsal Coordinator:
- Eleanor Chu
Production Manager:
- Katrina Chan
Stage Manager:
- Vivia Ho
Daniel Lo
Artistic Concept, Composer & Music Director
Daniel Lo is one of the most prolific contemporary composers in Hong Kong. His works are frequently commissioned by esteemed arts organizations, including the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HKPhil), Hong Kong Sinfonietta (HKS), and Tai Kwun.
A key focus of Lo’s recent work is the integration of music with contemporary literature, including the music theatre Pressed for Love (2025), Sunyata (2023), the chamber opera Women Like Us (2020/2022), the song cycle Songs of Virotopia (2022), and the multimedia music theatre The Happy Family (2021). His compositions encompass musical theatres, orchestral works, and sound installations. Highlights include Asterismal Dance (HKPhil), Autumn Rhythm and Autumn Rhythm II (HKS), and Poids (HKNME).
Lo’s compositions have been featured at New Opera Days Ostrava (Czech Republic), Festival International de Piano La Roque d’Anthéron (France), Marvão International Music Festival (Portugal/Spain), Tongyeong International Music Festival (Korea), Asia Orchestra Week (Japan), Weiwuying TIFA Contemporary Music Platform (Taiwan), and the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
Lo completed his PhD in Composition at the University of York (UK) in 2017, under the supervision of William Brooks. Prior to this, Lo studied composition with Chan Hing-yan at the University of Hong Kong in 2009 and earning an MPhil in Music Composition in 2012.
In 2023, Lo received the “Award for Young Artist (Music)” at the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. Lo also teaches at the Department of Music at the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Since 2023, he has also served as the Director of Programming for the HKNME.
Keith Lam
Co-Creator, Director & Scenographer
Keith Lam is a media artist, and the co-founder and artistic director of the arts and technology studio, Dimension Plus.
His works have received awards at international art festivals, including the Prix Ars Electronica and the Japan Media Arts Festival. His art has been exhibited globally at museums and festivals such as the Hong Kong Museum of Art, The National Art Center in Tokyo, the Ars Electronica Festival, The New Technological Art Award Biennial in Belgium, FILE, ISEA, the Athens Digital Arts Festival and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. He was the recipient of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council "Young Artist Award" (2009) and "Artist of the Year Award" (2024).
Works by the studio Dimension Plus have also been exhibited in various cities, including Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, the Ars Electronica Festival, and MUTEK. Additionally, the team has curated several exhibitions, including Hello, Human at MoCA Taipei, Hylozoism: An Arts & Technology Exhibition at HKDI, Encounter Once in a Lifetime - Toyo Ito Architecture Exhibition (the opening exhibition of the Taichung Theater), Sensory Canvas at the Ming Contemporary Art Museum in Shanghai, and the arts & technology incubation program Playaround series. Dimension Plus is a venue partner of the East Kowloon Cultural Centre from 2024 to 2026.
Sanders Lau
Co-Creator, Choral Director & Performer
Sanders Lau is a leading choral conductor in Hong Kong and the Artistic Director of NOĒMA, one of the city’s most innovative chamber choirs. In 2023, he won First Prize at the Romano Gandolfi International Competition for Choral Conductors in Italy. Under his direction, NOĒMA has collaborated with world-class ensembles like Tenebrae and Vox Luminis, and their 2024 performance at the Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) was shortlisted for the Classical:NEXT Innovation Award.
Sanders is known for his thoughtful curation and interest in early music, serving as Resident Conductor of Die Konzertisten. He is a highly sought-after clinician and guest artist, frequently collaborating on educational projects with the Hong Kong Inter-School Choral Festival, the HKAF and major regional universities. A dedicated educator, his annual conducting courses influence hundreds of teachers. Sanders holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and is committed to advancing professional choral standards in Hong Kong.
Seth Hon
Visual Arts
Seth Hon Ka Chun graduated from Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design, member of Hong Kong-Taiwan New Media Art Team Dimension Plus. His works mainly focus on displaying data in different perspectives and dimensions and present it in different media like video and sculpture. He has been active among international festivals and exhibitions include Ars Electronica, Nuit Blanche Taipei, Venice Surface Festival and Ink Asia.
Lawrence Lau
Electronic Music
Lau graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the City University of Hong Kong, majoring in composing, electronic music, and creative media. He navigates the scenes of theatres, galleries, and underground music as a sound designer, sound artist, and performer. Lau’s interest lies in creative collaboration through which he expands his oeuvres from music to sonic, performing, and installation arts of floating boundaries. Recent endeavours include: A Musician’s Prepares (from 2019), a methodological exploration of music and sonic art creation as performance; Chain of Dialogues (2021), a community-facing project which explores personal relationships by means of in-situ interviews and performances; Elemental Practice - Text (2020) and Elemental Practice - Spectator (2021), a series of experiments on the relationship between music and text or spectatorship; The Continuum of Ephemeral Persistence (2024) is a collection of works that reflect the various ways of interpreting the disappearance of time and presence through mainstream audiovisual records.
Alison Fong
Sound Designer
Allison Fong graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a BFA (Hons) in Theatre and Entertainment Arts, majoring in Sound Design.
She has created sound design for Pulse/Pulse/Pulse, DIMENSION FLÂNEUR and Remediation Ensemble (Dimension Plus), TechBox 2024: LEVEL 66 – The Arcade Project, Black Spot (Beyond Dance Theatre), Les Fleurs du mal (Artocrite Theater), The Tempest (Heteroglossia Theatre x Dirks Theatre), Songs of Innocence and Experience (WestK x Rooftop Productions).
TOMTOM
Lighting Designer
TOMTOM is a lighting director based in Hong Kong, specializing in immersive lighting experiences for theatre, concerts, and installation art. With a passion for transforming spaces, she brings storytelling to life through light.
Graduating from HKAPA with a degree in Theatre and Entertainment Arts, majoring in Lighting Design, TOMTOM has collaborated with artists such as Dimension Plus, PERSE, Kendy Suen, and Mirror, among others. Her work uniquely blends artistry and technology, utilizing cutting-edge techniques to evoke emotion. She has also served as an assistant lighting designer for Walt Disney Imagineering at Hong Kong Disneyland.
In addition, TOMTOM is a member of NATP, a multimedia art collective known for innovative audiovisual collaborations. NATP has produced groundbreaking works, including: The square doesn’t fit the circle, 420 BAD TRIP, 2020, STEM and Lunatic, among others.
Koei Leung
Assistant Stage Designer
Koei graduated from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design, majoring in Product Design. She currently focuses on 3D production. She is eager to explore possibilities in the field of installation design and stage set design production.
NOĒMA
Performer
NOĒMA is a leading professional choir in Hong Kong, founded in 2022 by Artistic Director Sanders Lau. The ensemble is dedicated to advancing Hong Kong’s choral landscape and has quickly established itself as one of the city’s foremost artistic forces. Recent highlights include collaborations with internationally renowned vocal groups Tenebrae, and Vox Luminis with Lionel Meunier, bringing world-class choral artistry to local audiences.
NOĒMA has performed to critical acclaim, with invitations from presenters including HKU MUSE, Tai Kwun, and the Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF). Its sold-out cross-disciplinary production Garden of Repose at the HKAF was shortlisted for the 2024 Classical:NEXT Innovation Award.
2026 highlights include an exciting new initiative in July, the NOĒMA Institute of Vocal Artistry (NIVA), and two multidisciplinary theatrical productions, namely Song from FAR Away || FAR Away from Song, and Songs of Being. The choir also works closely with the HKU Chamber Singers and serves as a supporting organisation of the Hong Kong Inter-School Choral Festival, contributing actively to the growth of Hong Kong’s choral community.
Carmen Bat
Performer
Carmen Bat is a Hong Kong-based mezzo-soprano whose collaborations span both classical and contemporary repertoire. She has performed as a soloist and ensemble singer with NOĒMA, Singfest, Die Konzertisten, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus, and the Opera Hong Kong Chorus. In recent years she has appeared in Bach’s St. John Passion (presented by Singfest, 2021 in Germany; 2023 in Hong Kong), as well as in cross‑genre productions including NOĒMA’s Garden of Repose at the Hong Kong Arts Festival (2024), Pressed for Love, a Cantonese theatre work with music by Daniel Lo and text by Wong Yi (presented by Singfest, 2025), and Song from FAR Away / FAR Away from Song (2025) directed by Ivanhoe Lam.
Kenix Tsang
Performer
Soprano Kenix Tsang is a native of Hong Kong. She has been active in opera and classical music theater productions in recent years. Her performance highlights include Pamina in The Magic Flute, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, leading role as Woman in Daniel Lo’s Women Like Us, Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Widow in Mendelssohn's Elijah, Mary Magdalene in Bach im theatre: St John Passion presented by SingFest and New Vision Festival HK.
As the Resident Artist of SingFest, Tsang joined the creative teams of their choral theatre productions Pressed for Love, Gute Nacht Mondlicht and Meine Lieder, mein Licht. She is a member of chamber choir Noēma, vocal instructor at The University of Hong Kong and The Education University of Hong Kong. She also serves as a conductor at The Hong Kong Children’s Choir and Macedonia Christian Choir.
Winky Wong
Performer
Winky Wong is an independent singer-songwriter. After her debut in 2023 with the group Beanies, she launched her solo career in 2024 and released six singles, including Bad Cat, Begin Again, Lonely Vinyl, Alice Isn’t a Friend Anymore, The Lilliputians, and Before the Supermarket Closed. She was honored to receive the Silver Award for Ultimate Female Newcomer at the Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation 2024, as well as the Silver Award for Best Newcomer at Metro Radio’s Music Awards 2024.
Aside from being a singer-songwriter, Winky has also participated in various performances. Some notable productions include Disney in Concert: Beauty and the Beast, IAC’s Voice of the Woods A Cappella theater by Yat Po Singers and LCSD, the Freespace Jazz Fest’s Jazz Vocals All-Nighters, and Chan Fai Young x Women’s Choir People Come, People Go. She also performed as a backing vocal for Terence Siufay, Yoyo Sham, and Stephy Tang.
Angela Yiu
Performer
Angela is a choral musician who started singing at the age of five since joining the Hong Kong Children’s Choir. Under the guidance of internationally acclaimed soprano Alison Lau, she has become an avid chorister in both local and international choral scenes.
Angela was a member of the World Youth Choir 2017-2019 and Alumni Choir in 2024, touring across Europe, Asia and North America with highly acclaimed conductors, including Josep Vila i Casañas, Zoltán Pad, Cecilia Rydinger, Helene Stureborg and Jonathan Velasco. During her time in the UK, she was a member of the University of Aberdeen Chamber Choir and has performed alongside the Williamson Voices at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, under the baton of Paul Mealor and James Jordan.
Locally, Angela performs extensively in Hong Kong with the SingFest Choral Academy, Diocesan Choral Society, Die Konzertisten and Phoenix Choral Projects under the baton of renowned conductors from Hong Kong and abroad, performing a diverse repertoire spanning from classical masterpieces to contemporary choral works.
Caleb Woo
Performer
Caleb participated actively in various productions, such as the musical theatre work The Book of Longings, soloing in BachFest Leipzig, Por Por by Austin Yip, Women like Us by Daniel Lo, the Opera Angel’s Bone produced by the New Vision Arts Festival; Chan Hin-yan’s The Heart of Coral and Datong which were commissioned by the Hong Kong Arts Festival. He collaborated with Christopher Seaman, Helmuth Reiling, Paul Goodwin, William Weinert, Johnathan Cohen, Jahja Ling, Lio Kuokman and Yip Wing-sie. He also participated in productions by the Opera Hong Kong, Hong Kong City Opera, Musica Viva, Pop up Production, Silent Opera, Hong Kong Grand Opera, putting up La Traviata, Orphee aux enfers, La Bohéme, Vixen, L’impresario in Angustie, Die Fledemaus, to name a few.
Caleb graduated with the Master of Music degree in Voice Performance and Literature at Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, New York. Caleb holds degrees from the Hong Kong Baptist University including the Bachelor of Arts degree in Voice Performance and Pedagogy in 2006 with first class honor as well as the Social Science degree in China-Studies in 2003. Master of Arts degree in Christian Studies from the Chung-Chi Divinity School, Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2007. ATCL diploma and LRSM diploma in 2005 and 2009 respectively. His voice teachers include Prof. Robert McIver, Mr. Jimmy Chan and Mr. Sanson Lau.
Now serving as the Music director of Tuen Mun Alliance Church and Voice Instructor at Music Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong and Qin Music. He is also serving as an assistant professor at Wong Bing Lai Music and Performing Arts Unit, Lingnan University, resident artist of the Education University of Hong Kong, and conductor of The University of Hong Kong Chamber Singers. Elected as a Member of National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the founding president and recently the vice-president of the Hong Kong Chapter. Caleb is devoting himself into promoting healthy vocalism and the ability appreciating the beauty of voice as creation.
Michael Lee
Producer
Michael Lee is an independent producer and project manager who focuses on cross-disciplinary creation and multicultural collaboration. He previously held roles as Project Producer and Assistant Project Manager for the Hong Kong Arts Festival, spanning arts education and performance production. Collaborated organisations include the West Kowloon Cultural District (Performing Arts), Tai Kwun, Hong Kong Ballet, Hong Kong Disneyland, French May Arts Festival, Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong, HKU MUSE, and Taikoo Place, etc.
Thalia Wong
Marketing and Ticketing
Thalia Wong is an independent arts administrator and PR. She previously served as the Marketing Manager of the Xi Xi Foundation, Assistant Marketing and Development Manager at City Contemporary Dance Company (2021–2023) and had held positions at the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and the Hong Kong Dance Company.
Katrina Chan
Production Manager
Chan graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (honours), majoring in Arts, Event and Stage Management.
She participated in Hong Kong and overseas productions with different performing arts companies, and also worked at the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. Recent production credits include working with the Hong Kong Arts Festival and Opera Hong Kong. She currently works as a freelancer.
Enjoy planting, hiking and nature.
Vivia Ho
Stage Manager
Graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and majored in Arts, Event, and Stage Management. Vivia worked actively on different projects as a freelancer in stage and project management.