IMPORTANT NOTICE: this event has been rescheduled to Jan. 20, Saturday due to weather conditions.
Free admission. Please RSVP by emailing chk.library@utoronto.ca.
Synopsis
What would the public sound like in the history of Hong Kong if they were a chorus? From choirs in cathedrals to choirs in TongLau唐樓, people in Hong Kong have been singing together as a part of their social life. This talk explores choral societies in Hong Kong as a form of civic engagement, with historical examples from flagship choirs and amateur community choruses from the 1930s. In these examples, one sees how Hong Kong choral organizations navigated the unique political and institutional structures of the colonial government, which sought to regulate and administer all forms of civic life.
More specifically, based on archival research, Dr. Tang will explore how choral activities were monitored by the Societies Ordinance in colonial Hong Kong. Some of these choirs sought to mobilize Chinese solidarity. Other choirs situated themselves in the civil realm by creating apolitical rhetoric through classical choral repertoires. In overseas choir tours and large-scale local performances, these choirs negotiated what and when they should perform as “choirs from Hong Kong”. By reading these historical examples closely alongside the nowadays vibrant choral communities in Hong Kong, this seminar would provide insights into how people in Hong Kong navigate notions of identity and public, as they step in and out of the civil realm through choral singing.
Speaker Bio
Magdelena Ho-yan TANG is an external research associate at the York Centre for Asian Research of York University. She received her PhD from the University of Hong Kong with the dissertation “The Singing Public in Hong Kong: Choral Music as Social Life”. Her research focuses on notions of identity, performative aspects of collective singing, and public space. In the past, she presented her works at the Association of Chinese Music Research annual meeting, the Royal Musical Association Annual Conference, and the Hong Kong Studies Symposium. Her work can be seen in the peer-reviewed journal Music and Politics. She is also a choral conductor based in Toronto, teaching at Bach Children’s Chorus and Sistema Toronto.
Moderator
Rick Sin (Research Associate, York Center for Asian Research)