Chilled Steppes – of Central Asia

Before each ticketed _World in Harmony–Music without Borders'_ event, the **Hong Kong New Music Ensemble** continues their cross-cultural collaboration with other musical traditions by bringing the steppes of Central Asia to the Laundry Steps of Tai Kwun. From the oases of Uzbekistan to the Kazakh grasslands, two alternating programmes (both free of charge) view traditional musical landscapes through a contemporary lens. In the first programme, Uzbek multi-instrumentalist **Umid Eshonkhujae****v** and percussionist **Abbos Kosimov** join HKNME musicians in juxtaposing works by Uzbek composer Jakhongir Shukur with a new arrangement of Borodin's _In the Steppes of Central Asia_. In the second, Kazakh violin virtuoso **Abylay Nurlybek** and traditional fiddler **Satkozy Mukhtar** join HKNME players in a rich multimedia display of new Kazakh works and a demonstration of traditional Kazakh instruments.