"Samson Young personifies the emerging, contemporary artist: youthful, talented, and a touch schizophrenic. [But] there is method - and no little intelligence - in Young's madness." - BC Magazine
"Employing everything from violin with floss substituted for strings, to blips and beeps inspired by childhood video games, Young’s works combine arresting imagery and lighting with carefully contoured music...to make for a multisensory theatrical experience." - Time Out Hong Kong
Described by contemporary music portal Sequenza 21 as “epic, dark, and fun,†Samson Young’s music often juxtaposes elements of play with intensely violent gestures to create experiences of rich darkness and perverted poetry. With formal training in classical music and a keen eye for moving images and installation-art, Young combines his expertise to create unique concert experiences.
Beyond the classical concert stage, Young's creative output spans the widest possible range: from music for symphony orchestra and electronics, to amusement-ride-turned-sound-installation, to video-theatre featuring himself dressed as a teletubby. In June 2007, Young became the first Hong Kong artist to receive the Bloomberg Emerging Artist Award with his “Happiest Hour†- a collection of Nintendo gameboy-inspired audio-visual installations. Young was Hong Kong Sinfonietta's artist assoicate in the 2008 – 2009 season.
Young's compositions, installations and multimedia works have been presented in such festival as the Sydney Springs International New Music Festival (Australia 2001) and Canberra International Music Festival (Australia 2008); Bowdoin International Music Festival (US 2004) and Bang on a Can Music Summer Music Festival (US 2005); Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt (Germany 2006); Dark Music Days (Iceland 2008); Microwave International New Media Arts Festival (HK 2004), October Contemporary (HK 2007), Le French May Arts Festival (HK 2009) and Hong Kong Arts Festival (2009). His concert music received performances by Hong Kong Sinfonietta, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Bang on a Can Summer Institute Fellows, Network for New Music, New Millennium Ensemble, So Percussion, Sydney Song Company and Grenzenlos, among others.
Young is a Ph.D fellow at Princeton University's department of music under the auspices of a Princeton University Fellowship and Naumburg Prize. His mentors in composition include Hing-yan Chan, and electronic music pioneer Paul Lanksy. In addition, he has studied privately and in masterclasses with George Crumb, Toshio Hosokawa, Helmut Lachenmann, and Steve Reich.
Recording of Samson Young's work is available through Capstone Records.
ROXY. NEW YORK for amplified string quartet, electronics and video
