THE STAYCATION SPECIAL

Culture
Compiled by Jessica Wei
jessica.wei@hkmagmedia.com
UPCLOSE: METRO VOCAL GROUP
HK Magazine: How did you four become a group?
Eric Monson: In 1998, I was contacted by an agent to perform
on a cruise ship. He asked if I wanted to put a group together
and I said, sure! We went on to have our first gig on a cruise
ship to Vancouver. It started off as a six-month contract, and
here we are, 18 years later.
HK: Why did you decide to settle down in Hong Kong?
EM: On cruise ships we traveled to over 60 different countries,
but after a while we always seemed to get bored of the cities we
were visiting. Hong Kong was the first place that we actually felt
could be home. So we decided, in 2008, to make Hong Kong
our home base.
Kevin Thornton: I love Hong Kong! It’s the most exciting city in
the world—plus I met the love of my life and got married here.
SO: Because we’re not Chinese, we had to do it perfectly.
But we added our own flavor to it.
HK: What’s unique about your sound?
SO: We grew up in a barbershop harmony society, and
barbershop has a very fluid sound. A lot of contemporary
a cappella groups focus more on rhythm, but we focus on fluid
sounds. That gives us a bigger sound and it’s very dynamic.
HK: What do you think of the a cappella scene in
Hong Kong?
Michael Lance: A cappella wasn’t as mainstream as it is now.
All these sing-off shows and the “Pitch Perfect” movies have
brought the a cappella world into more of a mainstream
environment. In the past six or seven years a cappella has gone
huge in Hong Kong. I’d like to think we had a part in that.
Hong Kong-based a capella singers Metro
Vocal Group hit the limelight when their
Cantonese cover of Beyond’s signature song
“Under a Vast Sky” became an internet
sensation back in 2010. Ahead of their first
large-scale concert in Hong Kong, Eric Monson,
Michael Lance, Sean Oliver and Kevin Thornton
(L-R) tell Xavier Ng about their journey to Hong
Kong and how they started singing Cantopop.
HK: How did you start singing Cantopop?
Sean Oliver: We did our first Cantonese song “My Pride”
[by Cantopop singer Joey Yung] in 2010, and then Beyond’s
“Under a Vast Sky,” and it forever changed our lives. Our friends
suggested the songs and that was our first exposure to Beyond.
We fell in love with them. I still think they are the best band
that’s ever come out of Hong Kong. It opened our ears to music
that we hadn’t heard before: from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong,
the Philippines, everywhere. We were like kids in a candy store.
HK: Did you master your Cantonese in the process?
EM: Siu siu [a little bit]. We made the locals laugh a lot because
singing in Cantonese is incredibly hard, especially the rising tones.
We have a coach, my wife, who comes in—she’s a singer as well.
She worked with Sean for two months for “Under a Vast Sky.”
EM: In the States, barbershop music has been around for
centuries, and guys getting together singing a cappella is part
of the university experience. Hong Kong is starting to find those
opportunities we grew up with. We see more high school and
university groups, and it’s much easier to start up a band.
HK: How do you decide on your songs?
SO: We have so much to choose from now because not only
do we have the western market, but we also have the eastern
market. We are looking to do some K-pop too. Our new venture
now is to write our own music: We’ll debut a lot of our own
tunes in the upcoming concert, and we will release an album of
original songs in October.
Don’t miss the Metro Vocal Group on May 25, 8pm. Concert Hall,
City Hall, 5 Edinburgh Place, Central. $150-500 from urbtix.hk
Concerts
Steven Ma: Symphonic Delights
A popstar and TV personality since the 80s,
Steven Ma joins a 70-piece Chinese music
orchestra for a one-night-only performance.
The show features a mix of Chinese and
Western pop and jazz standards, with the help of
multiple-award-winning erhuist and composer
Chu Wan-pin, the Tai Po Children’s Choir and the
Wao! Singers. Jun 5, 7:30pm. Sha Tin Town Hall,
1 Yuen Wo Rd., Sha Tin, 3761-6661. $280-480
from urbtix.hk.
Paris Combo with SIU2
Paris Combo, a French cabaret and pop fusion
group which mixes elements of gypsy music and
Latin and Middle-Eastern rhythms, is bringing their
unique sonic blend to Hong Kong. They’ve added
extra fusion to their tunes by
reinterpreting some of
their repertoire with
guest performers
SIU2, a Hong
Kong group
which blend
Chinese
traditional
instruments
with Western
guitar and
drums. May
20, 21, 8pm.
Amphitheatre,
Academy for
Performing Arts,
1 Gloucester
Rd., Wan Chai,
$180-480 from
hkticketing.com.
Classical
Stephen Hough Piano Recital
British pianist and composer Stephen Hough
is one of the few living musicians to have been
awarded a MacArthur “Genius Grant.” He returns
to Hong Kong to debut his own piece, “Third
Sonata,” and plays selections from Schubert,
Liszt and Franck. May 30, 8pm. Concert Hall,
City Hall, 5 Edinburgh Place, Central .
$80-580 from urbtix.hk.
HK Phil Presents Scheherazade
Get ready to be slapped in the face by two of
the “Mighty Handful”—Russia’s answer to the
Romantics. Under David Atherton’s baton, the
Hong Kong Philharmonic will be playing selections
including Polovtsian Dances from Borodin’s
“Prince Igor,” and Shostakovitch’s mighty Cello
Concerto No.1 led by Jing Zhao, one of China’s
fastest rising cellists. They round off the show with
Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade” from the epic
tale, “1001 Nights.”
May 27-28, 8pm.
Hong Kong Cultural
Centre, 10 Salisbury
Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui .
$180-480 from
urbtix.hk.
Solomusica: The Face of Mercy
In celebration of the Papal year of Mercy,
Solomusica has organized two concerts of
Mozart’s seldom-performed “Misericordias
Domini,” a sacred work he composed at the age
of 19 that’s now considered a minor masterpiece.
Featured in this performance are Francesca
Lombardi Mazzulli (below), Roberta Mameli, and
Mirco Palazzi from Italy, as well as Hong Kong’s
own tenor Attis Y Chen. Proceeds go to Save the
Children and Helping Hand. Jun 16, 23, 7:30pm.
St. John’s Cathedral, 4-8 Garden Rd., Central,
solomusica.org. $288-1,450 from ticketflap.com.
Dance
I, Carmen
Spanish flamenco artist María Pagés returns to
Hong Kong with a new take on the classic tale
of “Carmen.” But instead of the original story’s
femme fatale, this retelling reflects the real lives
and feelings of ordinary women. May 27-28, 8pm.
Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall, 1 Yuen Wo Rd., Sha
Tin, $180-450 from urbtix.hk.
Recital Flamenco with Manuel Liñán
Don’t miss this opportunity to see one of Spain’s
leading male dancers grace the Hong Kong
stage. Manuel Liñán will
be dancing selections
taken from his best
productions, with live
accompaniment from
guitarist Francisco
Vinuesa and
flamenco
singer David
Carpio.
Jun 5,
8pm.
Sheung
Wan Civic
Centre, 345
Queen’s Rd.
Central, Sheung
Wan. $250-$500
from urbtix.hk.
Fame:
A Weekend of Dancing Stars
For two hours, let yourself be carried away
(hopefully not literally) by the high-flying aerial
stunts of the Aerial Arts Academy. Their new
“Fame”-themed production delivers provocative
aerial silk and hoop performances, burlesque and
pole dancing, and acrobatics. Jun 4, 7pm; Jun 5,
3pm. Youth Square Y-Studio, 2/F, 238 Chai Wan
Rd., Chai Wan, aerialartsacademy.com.
$295-355 from urbtix.hk.
Cinderella: A Neo-Classical Production
In Thierry Malandain’s contemporary ballet
reimagining of the classic folk tale, Cinderella
gets recast as a rising, dancing star. This
minimalist production balances ballet with a hint
of burlesque, all set to the score of Prokofiev’s
original 1944 opus. Jun 1-2, 7:30pm. Grand
Theatre, Cultural Centre, 10 Salisbury Rd.,
Tsim Sha Tsui . $120-480 from urbtix.hk.
Beauty & The Beast
by Malandain Ballet Biarritz
Based on Jean Cocteau’s masterful 1964 film of
the same name, the Malandain Ballet Biarritz
offers an intellectual and whimsical interpretation
of the duality of humanity in Beauty & The Beast.
French-Medieval costumes and a selected score
from Tchaikovsky makes this one wonder-filled
production. Jun 3-4, 8pm. Grand Theatre,
Cultural Centre, 10 Salisbury Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui.
$120-480 from urbtix.hk.
Extrêmités
All it takes is a few wooden planks, some bottles of
gas and a few precarious acrobats exercising their
balancing skills to make “Extrêmités” a rollicking
visual experience. This performance features three
members of the French Cirque Inextremiste
troupe, including one in a wheelchair: They work
together in solidarity to keep the structure they
create from collapsing. Through their efforts, a
story of trust and survival unfolds. Talk about trust
exercises... May 20-21, 8pm. Auditorium,
Kwai Tsing Theatre, 12 Hing Ning Rd., Kwai Fong,
$100-300 from urbtix.hk.
22 HK MAGAZINE FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2016