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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) was privileged to welcome Dr. Lam Bun-ching, distinguished alumna of CUHK and renowned composer as a guest speaker for the Lecture Series in Arts and Humanities co-organized by CUHK and Shun Hing Group. Dr. Lam presented a lecture on ‘River Flows, Moon Moves Stone: Poetry – Images – Music’ today (5 November) on CUHK campus, drawing an audience of about 160 academics, students, alumni, and members of the public. 

Over the years, Dr. Lam Bun-ching has set a number of poems to music in different languages and some of them also exist in Artist Book form. In this lecture, Dr. Lam talked about how to seek inspiration in poetry. She also shared her work in transforming text from one medium to another, and explored the multiple interpretation of language. 

Dr. Lam Bun-ching is a prominent Chinese composer. She started studying piano when she was seven and gave her first piano recital at fifteen. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from CUHK in 1976, Dr. Lam was granted a scholarship from the University of California in San Diego, where she studied composition with Bernard Rands, Robert Erickson, Roger Reynolds and Pauline Oliveros, and received her PhD degree in 1981. She was then invited to teach composition, music theory and piano at Cornish College of the Arts. 

Dr. Lam is a renowned composer and her unique musical voice reflects cultural boundaries both in Chinese and Western musical idioms. Her compositions have been recognized through numerous awards, including first prizes at the Aspen Music Festival (1980), the Northwest Composers’ Symposium (1982), the Prix de Rome (1992) and the Lili Boulanger Award (1992). In 1987, she received the highest honour at the Shanghai Music Competition, the first international competition for composers held in China. In 1998, she received a fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and, in 2002, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for her exceptional creative contribution to the arts. Dr. Lam’s compositions have been programmed in music festivals around the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Austria, Belgium, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Macau. 

Dr. Lam gives her unwavering support to educating young people. She was invited as one of the guest speakers in the Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series of Chung Chi College. Dr. Lam was honoured as the Siu Lien Ling Wong Visiting Fellow in 2012 to share her experience. She was also invited to be a composer-in-residence with the Macao Orchestra and to conduct composition classes and workshops in Hong Kong. 

Other distinguished persons to present the Shun Hing Lecture Series in Arts and Humanities following Dr. Lam Bun-ching include: Mr. Jimmy Liao, picture book author; and Ms. Sylvia Chang, actress, scriptwriter and director. Details are to be announced. Previous lectures of the series by Confucianism scholar Prof. Tu Weiming and renowned sculptor Prof. Wu Weishan were successfully held. Interested parties can review the lectures at the CUTV website: www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/cutv/category/21. 

Introduction of Shun Hing Lecture Series in Arts and Humanities 

To mark the 60^th anniversary of the Shun Hing Group and the 50^th anniversary of CUHK in 2013, the Shun Hing Lecture Series in Arts and Humanities has been established with a generous donation from the Shun Hing Group.  The lecture series aims at promoting cultural knowledge and scholarly pursuits in the arts and humanities. Distinguished scholars from four major areas, Music, Drama and Film, Literature and Art, as well as Philosophy and Thinking, will be invited to give public lectures. 

Since its establishment, CUHK has committed itself as much to teaching and academic research as to upholding the humanistic spirit. Through a wide selection of programmes on offer in general education, exchange and social services programmes, as well as different kinds of lectures and conferences, CUHK strives to encourage students and the public to improve their humanistic quality by thinking critically and appreciating different cultures and philosophies. The Shun Hing Lecture Series in Arts and Humanities launched by CUHK and the Shun Hing Group aims to inspire participants to understand and appreciate the art of living, to review their current state and explore the prospects, so that they become all-round global citizens with a strong sense of social responsibility and a heart to serve. 

The Shun Hing Group has been a staunch supporter of CUHK since the 1960’s. Over the years, major donations have been received to finance scholarships, exchange and training programmes at the University, as well as the Internet-based Robotics Inter-School Competition to nurture diverse and creative talents. Thanks to the generous support of Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund, Chair Professorship of Mathematics was set up at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences; various laboratories, Shun Hing Institute of Advanced Engineering, and William Mong Eye Centre of Tsinghua University & CUHK were also established for engineering and medical developments. 

About Shun Hing Group 

Established in 1953, the Shun Hing Group is the sole agent for Panasonic products in Hong Kong and Macau manufactured by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (now known as Panasonic Corporation). Over the past 60 years, the Group has remained a firm Hong Kong market leader in their field. In addition to serving as sole agent for home appliances, audio-visual products, telecommunications systems, business equipment and office furniture, the Shun Hing Group is also involved in engineering, contracting and electrical appliance servicing. Logistics, advertising production, system installation and maintenance, as well as property investment and management in China are among the Group’s other core activities. 

True to the spirit of give and take, the Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund was established in 1984. The Fund has donated approximately HK$1,000 million towards projects in Hong Kong and China that benefit education, healthcare, recreation, sports and environmental protection over the years.

For more photos, please visit:
https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/en/events_recap_detail.php?id=150&s=