GBA culture and arts festival kicks off

The 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture & Arts Festival opened at the Hong Kong Coliseum on Oct. 19.

Hosted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, the event is co-presented by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Guangdong provincial government, and the Macao SAR government.

The festival features over 260 captivating programs in “9+2” cities across the Greater Bay Area (GBA). These programs include performing arts showcases, museum exhibitions, library activities, and film screenings. Artists from Hong Kong and other GBA cities will collaborate on some of the spectacular programs, facilitating the exchange of creativity and talents while highlighting the vibrancy and diversity of the cultured bay area.

The festival’s opening program marked the world premiere performance of “Sound River” by the contemporary renowned Chinese composer and conductor Tan Dun.

Tan recorded the vanishing sounds, instruments and culture of the ancient cities along the Silk Road and captured them into 16 short films. He intertwined film and music, weaving together the documented imagery and sound into “Sound River,” a piece of work about the history of human civilization.

Under the baton of Tan, the concert featured the newly formed Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival Orchestra, which comprises of more than 100 members from the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and Macao Orchestra.

The festival runs until Nov. 24.