The policy and interrelationship of the supporting organizations in music composition in Hong Kong

Music composition in Hong Kong is mainly supported by two organizations. One is the Composer and Authors Society of Hong Kong Ltd (CASH) and the other is its subsidiary-Hong Kong Composers’ Guild (HKCG). CASH is established in 1977 to protect music copyright of its members and members of its overseas affiliated societies. This agency conducted performing royalty collections. Hong Kong Composers’ Guild is organized by a group of local composers from different academic institutions in Hong Kong. It is to promote local composer’s work and organizing music conferences, competitions and festivals in Hong Kong. The opportunities of Hong Kong composers are mostly from commissions, publications, recordings and performances. In 2002, 19 Hong Kong composers received commissions’ sponsorship from CASH. This paper will investigate how composers publicize their own work from the support of different art and music organization, for example, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau, Hong Kong Cultural and Leisure Department, and the university music program funded by University Grant Council. For this paper, I am only considering contemporary music composition by local composers. Songwriting and arranging of popular music for the music industry is not included in the scope of this discussion. In this paper, the scope of study includes the discussion of the cultural policy of Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), the recent music curriculum implemented by Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB), the significant role of the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Ltd. (CASH), and the music composition programs offered by tertiary institutions. The interrelationships between these supporting organizations in music composition in Hong Kong will be discussed. A flow chart about the composition environment will be illustrated with explanation. The source of funding on composition is discussed throughout the paper in different organizations in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2004 International Society for Music Education.