On 21 September 2026, the BNBU Music Department welcomed Hong Kong music director, composer, lyricist and film/TV score composer Alan Cheung Ka-shing to CC129 for From TVB to the Greater Bay Area: Alan Cheung on Songwriting for Screen and Creative Collaboration. The lecture-demonstration marked the first event of this academic year’s DMUS Visiting Artist Series, bringing professional perspectives from television, popular music and screen scoring into the department’s learning environment.

[Alan Cheung sharing his experience in songwriting and music production at CC129]

Drawing on his professional experience, Cheung traced the creative process from initial musical ideas through composition and arranging to production and live presentation. Rather than approaching a screen song only as a finished work, the session opened up the collaborative process behind it, highlighting the relationships between composers, arrangers, performers and production teams.

Cheung has held music director positions at Sony Music in Beijing, TVB in Hong Kong and Emperor Entertainment Group in Beijing. A three-time recipient of the national Five One Project Award, he has created more than 500 works, including over 200 theme songs and more than 100 chart-topping releases. His visit offered students an opportunity to encounter the professional contexts surrounding musical creation beyond the rehearsal room and classroom.

A live student performance brought these ideas directly into sound. Music students Yantao Chen, Jinglin Feng and Oumeng Li performed Cheung’s I Was Here, the theme from the TVB drama The Exorcist’s Meter, in an arrangement by Willson Lo for piano, flute and marimba. Reimagined through this instrumental combination, the work provided a practical point of connection between the lecture’s discussion of arranging, interpretation and collaboration and the experience of live performance.

[Yantao Chen, Jinglin Feng and Oumeng Li performing I Was Here]

The conversation continued beyond the formal session, with students remaining after the lecture to speak with Cheung and exchange ideas at closer range.

[Alan Cheung in conversation with students after the lecture]

As the opening event of this academic year’s DMUS Visiting Artist Series, the lecture connected professional creative practice with music study at BNBU. Through industry experience, case-based discussion and live student performance, the session offered students a more direct view of how composition, arranging, performance and production come together within contemporary professional music-making.

Written by: Sienna Xuanxuan Wu

Layout & Editing: Sienna Xuanxuan Wu

Photos provided by：Sinan Zhang