Oscillating between various performance, free improvisation and composition, Hong Kong multidisciplinary/multimedia artist Chi Him Chik expands the spectrum of performance practices from the acoustic instrument of saxophone to megaphone, screaming, computer, audiovisuals, and music theatre, and has presented his works in different countries and cities across Europe, Asia, and North America, and has made appearances as artist and performer in various festivals and prestigious venues, including Taktlos Festival, Darmstadt Summer Course, Stuttgart Filmwinter Festival, and the Theater Basel.
Chi Him has won several prestigious competitions and is the first saxophonist from Hong Kong to reach the semi-final round of the Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition. As an advocate of new music, he is responsible for the premiere of numerous of works by contemporary composers with diverse cultural backgrounds – including the world premiere of Chinese composer Chen Yi’s “Chinese Folk Dance Suite” for Soprano Saxophone and Piano and the orchestral premiere of Thai composer Narong Prangcharoen’s Saxophone Concerto “Maha Mantras”.
Chi Him received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from Bowling Green State University in the United States and Master’s Degree in Specialized Musical Performance (Improvisation) from the Hochschule für Musik in Basel, Switzerland. His mentors include Dr. John Sampen, Zach Shemon, Fred Frith, Alfred Zimmerlin, Michel Roth, and Johannes Kreidler.
Inspired by the New York downtown scene and Japan noise music scene, as well as the career and works of the corresponding artists including Nam June Paik, Fred Frith, Merzbow, and Keiji Haino, Chi Him is currently focusing on opening up his own works to contemporary art while dealing with the political situation in his home town Hong Kong.
Education
- 2013 – 2017 Bowling Green State University | USA
Bachelor of Music Performance (Saxophone) - 2018 – 2020 Hochschule für Musik Basel | Switzerland
Master of Arts in Specialized Musical Performance (Improvisation) - 2020 – current Hochschule für Künste Bremen | Germany
Master of Arts in Digital Media
Albums
- 2020
千 – Thousands | with Seth Davis, under Mother Brain Records, Kansas City
h̵a̵ze̴.̵ | self-release on Bandcamp
Noise à Noise 20.3-1 | part of compilation album, under Noise à Noise Records) - 2021
The Bat Effect | with Sascha Brosamer, part of compilation album, under Total
Silence Cologne
NO ONE WANTS IT Original Soundtrack | with Sascha Brosamer, under Total
Silence Cologne - 2022
Drapetomania | CD release with Alchemists‘ Bruit, under Wide Ear Records, Zurich
Akash | CD release with Candytoe, self-release
Performance Projects (Excerpt) - 2017
I can’t see the „Light“ | Bowling Green, USA - 2018
Into the SOUND | Kansas City, USA
MaXaS | Kansas City, USA - 2019
無 – Nothingness | Basel, Switzerland
Static Line(s) | Basel, Switzerland
ÜBERLÄUFER* (With Sonic Space Basel) | Basel, Switzerland - 2020
Where is my mind | Basel, Switzerland
PHOBIA | Basel, Switzerland
Raisin Bombers | Berlin, Germany - 2021
NO ONE WANTS IT | Berlin, Germany
Where/Is/My/Mind/(Re)Flection | Bremen, Germany
Aiii | Lichtsteig, Switzerland - 2022
Hallo | Bremen, Germany
Candytoe | Zurich, Switzerland
Theatre Performances
- 2020
PHOBIA | Theater Basel, Switzerland - 2021
PHOBIA | Gedok Stuttgart & STAMP Festival Hamburg
Tabula Rasa | Akut Festival Basel
Urban Bodies Project – Hamburg | Reeperbahn Hamburg - 2022
AUS DER KÄLTE | Kraftwerk Bille Hamburg
Installations
- 2020
Crackles | GEDOK Stuttgart - 2021
Aiii/Fac_tür | My Behavioral Surplus Festival in Stuttgart
Aiii/Beginning of the End of Beginning | My Behavioral Surplus Festival in Stuttgart
The Living Body is the Central Object of All Politics | Hochschule für Künste Bremen
Residency
- 2021
Dogo Residency | Lichtensteig (Switzerland)
Madness Ensemble Residency | Jugendkulturhaus Dynamo in Zurich
Workshops & Presentations
- 2017
Instrument presentation and presentation “The Contemporary Saxophone” | Hong
Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong - 2018
Master class and presentation with saxophone studio, instrument presentation and
reading session with composition studio, and performance | Miami University of
Ohio, USA - 2019
Free improvisation workshop and composition presentation | Conservatorio Superior
de Música del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, Spain
Workshops and presentations on free improvisation and composition, and
performance | Institut Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Workshops and presentations on saxophone repertoire and composition | SEGi
College, Malaysia
Workshops and presentations on saxophone repertoire, composition, and performance
| Universiti Teknologi Mara, Malaysia
Workshops and presentations on saxophone repertoire and composition | Malaysia
Institute of Arts, Malaysia - 2022
Presentation and performance on remote improvisation performance using network
audio with David P. Landon | ATLAS Institute of University of Colorado Boulder,
USA
Links
- Website: www.chihimchik.com
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMWSUftxkYcl88pk1ALmkSw
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/chihim-chik
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chihim.chik/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chihimchik/
