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HKBU showcases art-tech innovations at Symphony Orchestra Annual Gala Concert

 

 

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) Symphony Orchestra presented its Annual Gala Concert, one of the most innovative cultural events of the year in town, on 29 April 2026 at the East Kowloon Cultural Centre. Themed “Live Music ReIMAGINEd”, the concert broke new ground with artistic collaborations that push the boundaries of arts and technology.

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Professor Johnny Poon, Associate Vice-President (Interdisciplinary Research) and Dean of the School of Creative Arts at HKBU, conducted the orchestra.

The concert opened in a spectacular fashion, with music director and conductor of the concert, Professor Johnny Poon, Associate Vice-President (Interdisciplinary Research) and Dean of the School of Creative Arts at HKBU, led the orchestra in a performance of Wagner’s grand masterpiece, Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

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HKBU student violinists performed The Four Seasons on stage.

It was followed by one of the crowd’s favourite segments, featuring three HKBU music student violinists performing selections from Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Their performance was elevated by artificial intelligence (AI) visuals created by Professor Chen Jie, Associate Director of the HKBU Motion Capture and Visualization Laboratory.

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Humanoid robot Sophia sang on stage, accompanied by the HKBU Orchestra.

Further pushing the boundaries, the concert presented the world premiere collaboration with Sophia, a humanoid robot developed by the Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics. She sang three songs interweaved by three orchestral obbligatos composed by Dr Lam Kwan-fai, Associate Professor of Practice of the Academy of Music at HKBU and his team.

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A dancer equipped with motion-capture technology, live-enacts video game Black Myth: WuKong’s intense battle sequences on stage.

The orchestra took the audience on a Journey to the West by performing iconic theme songs from the classic Chinese television series Journey to the West and the video game Black Myth: Wukong. At the same time, a dancer in a motion capture suit vividly recreated the game’s martial arts sequences on stage. Through the use of real-time motion capture technology, his movements were projected on the giant screen in the form of Wukong.

To celebrate HKBU's 70th anniversary, the orchestra concluded the evening with a special performance of Birthday Fantasia, arranged by HKBU music alumnus Mr Ronald Fu, drawing a perfect conclusion to a show that merged tradition and technology.

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Professor Johnny Poon, Associate Vice-President (Interdisciplinary Research) and Dean of the School of Creative Arts at HKBU, and the orchestra performed Pines of Rome.