The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra turns 50 this season, and it's marking the milestone with a concert built around the humblest of instruments: the reed. Thousand Reeds, One Universe, the orchestra's 50th Orchestral Season Opening Concert, brings together mouth organs from across the world — Chinese sheng, Thai khaen, Japanese shō, Guizhou lusheng and even a Ukrainian jaw harp — for two nights at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in September.
In This Guide
What is Thousand Reeds, One Universe?
Per the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra's official concert page, Thousand Reeds, One Universe marks the grand opening of HKCO's 50th anniversary season and serves as the centrepiece of the 2026 International Sheng and Reeds Festival. The concert traces the reed — one of the oldest, most universal sound-producing mechanisms in music — across cultures: from the Tang-dynasty sheng preserved in Japan's Shosoin Repository, to the bamboo lusheng of Guizhou and Guangxi, the Thai khaen, and the improvisatory Russian jaw harp.
The programme leans heavily on new commissions: Equilibrium and Legacy by Chew Hee Chiat and One Breath. One World for jaw harp, shō, khaen and Chinese orchestra by Chan Ming-chi are both world premieres commissioned by HKCO, alongside a newly commissioned arrangement of Thousand Reeds in Harmony. In the closing piece, conductor Yan Huichang invites the audience to hum along — turning the sheng, in HKCO's words, from "an instrument to be played" into "an active medium connecting all who inhale and exhale."
Dates, venue and tickets
Thousand Reeds, One Universe 千筺一宅
Tickets are on sale via URBTIX. Enquiries: HKCO, tel 3185 1600.
What's on each night
The two dates share a backbone but differ in soloist repertoire, so it's worth checking which night suits you. Both open with the HKCO-commissioned world premiere Equilibrium and Legacy by Chew Hee Chiat and Yang Zhengping's Love Song from the Countryside for lusheng and orchestra, and both close with One Breath. One World (world premiere, for jaw harp, shō, khaen and orchestra) and the newly commissioned Thousand Reeds in Harmony.
- 19 September: adds Yan Haideng's Jin Melody for sheng and orchestra, excerpts from Enjott Schneider's Yi Jing performed by the winner of HKCO's "Contenders For The Reeds" competition, and Ao Xiang's Concerto for High Soprano Sheng No. I, Voyage of the Crystal Sea.
- 20 September: adds the same Yi Jing excerpts, Liu Ruixin's Sheng Concerto Silken Fragments of Plum Blossom, and Wang I-Yu's Reeds.
Featured performers across both nights include sheng players Weng Zhenfa, Wu Wei, Zhong Zhiyue and Chen Yi-wei, lusheng specialist Yang Zhengping, Thai khaen player Sun Nantachai, Japanese shō performer Reimi Miura, and jaw harp artist Olena UUTAi — a genuinely international line-up for a Hong Kong concert hall.
The concert is one strand of a bigger cultural season: it's officially billed as a programme of the Chinese Culture Festival 2026 and the Asia+ Festival 2026. If classical programming at the Cultural Centre is your thing, our coverage of the HK Phil's National Day Concert at the same venue in September is worth bookmarking too, alongside our wider guide to live music and concerts in Hong Kong.
Getting to the Cultural Centre
The Hong Kong Cultural Centre (香港文化中心) sits on the Tsim Sha Tsui harbourfront at 10 Salisbury Road. The easiest route is via East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station, Exit J (near Sogo), which connects to the venue through an underground subway — useful if it's raining. From Tsim Sha Tsui Station proper, it's a short walk along Salisbury Road towards the Star Ferry pier.
Good to know: because the 19 and 20 September shows run different programmes, don't assume a ticket to one gets you the same soloists as the other — check the programme breakdown above before you book if a specific concerto or performer is the draw.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plan your visit
Thousand Reeds, One Universe plays the Hong Kong Cultural Centre 19–20 September 2026 — tickets from $250 via URBTIX.