Commissions & Premières
Born in 1979 in Hong Kong, multi-disciplinary artist Samson Young works in sound, performance, video, and installation. He graduated with a PhD in Music Composition from Princeton University in 2013. In 2017, he represented Hong Kong at the 57th Venice Biennale. Other solo projects include De Appel, Amsterdam; Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh; Smart Museum of Art, Chicago; Centre for Contemporary Chinese Art, Manchester; M+ Pavilion, Hong Kong; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Ryosoku-in at Kenninji Temple, Kyoto; and Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne, among others. Selected group exhibitions include Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York; Gropius Bau, Berlin; Performa 19, New York; Biennale of Sydney; Shanghai Biennale; National Museum of Art, Osaka; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul; Ars Electronica Center, Linz; and documenta 14 Radio, among others. He was named Artist Associate by Hong Kong Sinfonietta in 2008-2009, and in 2020, he was awarded the inaugural Uli Sigg Prize.
Such Sweet Thunder (2018)
for Recorded Bell Sound, Narration and Orchestra
Commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta with sponsorship from CASH Music Fund
25 February 2018 WORLD PREMIÈRE
Hong Kong Sinfonietta | Conductor: YIP Wing-sie | Narrator: Sean Curran
Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall
Instrumentation:
1st & 2nd Violins, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses
2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets (doubling 2 Bass Clarinets), 2 Bassoons (doubling 2 Contrabassoons)
1 Trumpet (doubling Fluegelhorn)
2 Percussion: Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Marimba, Tubular Bells, Feng Gong
Piano, Narrator, Tape
Twelve Contemplations on Jesus Christ and Mystical Love (2011)
for Violin, Cello, Clarinet, Piano/Keyboard, Percussion, Video and Installation
Commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta
11-12 November 2011 WORLD PREMIÈRE
Hong Kong Sinfonietta | Installation Artist: Samson Young | Video Artist: Adrian Yeung
ArtisTree, Hong Kong
Electric Kinderszenen (2010)
for Piano, Site-specific Installation and Electronics
Commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta
18 June 2010 WORLD PREMIÈRE
Piano: Colleen Lee | Installation Artist: Samson Young
ArtisTree, Hong Kong
Electric Counterpoint (2009)
for Nintendo Gameboy, Electronics and Orchestra
Commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta with sponsorship from CASH Music Fund
24 February 2009 WORLD PREMIÈRE
Hong Kong Sinfonietta | Conductor: YIP Wing-sie
Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall
Instrumentation:
1st & 2nd Violins, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses
2 Flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons
4 Horns, 2 Trumpet, 2 Trombones
Timpani
2 Percussion: tam-tam, tubular bells, tambourine, glockenspiel, vibraphone, woodblocks, bass drum, bongos, finger cymbal, triangle, tom-toms, crotales
Nintendo Gameboy, Electronics
Afterglow (2008)
for Orchestra and Electronics
Commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta with sponsorship from CASH Music Fund
19 April 2008 WORLD PREMIÈRE
Hong Kong Sinfonietta | Conductor: YIP Wing-sie
Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall
How Perfumes are Transmitted by Feathery Telegraph (2005)
for Orchestra
21 October 2005 WORLD PREMIÈRE
Hong Kong Sinfonietta | Conductor: YIP Wing-sie
Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall