Yan Huichang, artistic director and principal conductor for life of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, leads performers from various countries and regions at the festival. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

An unprecedented live drum concert from Hong Kong that traversed time and space through modern communication technology wowed a worldwide audience with outstanding drum performances of combined styles, music industry veterans say.

“The concert has broken the boundary of time by bringing together the ancient and the modern, the boundary of place by combining Chinese and foreign pieces of work on stage, and adopting the latest 5G technology to broadcast the event for viewing simultaneously around the world,” said Benjamin Chan Wai-kai, chairman of the Council of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.

Professor Yan Huichang — artistic director and principal conductor for life of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra — led the orchestra at the concert, held Saturday evening in collaboration with renowned virtuosos from around the globe.

It’s amazing that Yan and the orchestra can be creative in integrating Chinese music with the elements of other traditional and modern music from other parts of the world, Chan said. “The concert was so fabulous that again I’ve to pay tribute to outstanding artistic director Yan.”

The not-to-be-missed grand finale live concert showcased different drum bands, including Dori from South Korea, Yosuke Oda from Japan, Azaguno from Africa, Abbos Group from Uzbekistan, and Anthony Fernandes from the United States. The splendid music, as well as the bright costumes from various places worldwide, were impressive.

The young artists of Guangzhou Drum Troupe brought valiant beats of ancient warriors. The performances of South Korean artists created mythical imaginations of the wind, rain and cloud. Abbos Group showed its exquisite skills by playing the drums with extreme speed of the palm, fingers and elbow. Oda beat the drums with force and strength, and larger drumsticks in typical Japanese style. Azaguno, which means “master drummer” among the Ewe people of Ghana in West Africa, displayed traditional African music and dancing, while Fernandes played the drums in a jazz style.

A Japanese drummer conducts a rare performance with the giant 3.47-meter-tall Peace Drum, which had been shown only twice before — in 2003 and 2013. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Each troupe performed its own program, which was silkily adapted to the harmony of dozens of other instruments of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, creating special echoing treats unheard of before. The finale culminated in an overall performance by all the teams, each playing to its fullest and all integrated with music from traditional Chinese instruments, indicating the sweet and sound merging of Asian and African styles, and the cultivation of new music trends of our times.

The concert was livestreamed via 5G to a global audience on the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra YouTube channel, Radio Television Hong Kong’s TV 32, and broadcast live at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall and in Room A504, Yuen Long District Community Services Building, and on open screens in Ghana, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, addressing the audience via a video link, said he hopes the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra’s performances will continue to bring musical feasts to the special administrative region, the Chinese mainland and the world, promote mutual learning among Chinese and other civilizations, and tell China and Hong Kong stories, all with Chinese music and art rich in Chinese cultural heritage.

Lee said the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra has been performing in the city for almost half a century, and has been playing the role of the SAR’s cultural ambassador by being invited to perform around the globe.

Wen Hongwu, general manager of Bauhinia Culture Holdings, who was invited to watch the live performance as a guest, said: “The event has inspired Hong Kong citizens, including children, to enjoy and learn drum music. I’m glad to see quite a number of them playing and practicing their drum skills with interest at the venue earlier.”

Through the concert and its activities, the Hong Kong audience can appreciate many such performances from other parts of the country and the world.