Refiner Drums

Founded in 2007 by the young percussionist, Leung Ching-kit, Refiner Drums is made up of over 20 young members. Since its founding, it has participated in several editions of the Hong Kong Synergy 24 Drum Competition and won over 60 awards. It also participated in the Victoria Trophy Asia Music and Dance Arts Festival organized by the International Society to Promote Cultural Exchange of Music and Dance in 2014, and won the Gold Award for Percussion Ensemble in the Chinese Instrumental Music Competition with the song Rhythmic Drums of the Yellow River.

Over the years, the group has performed on many different occasions: in 2020 it was a guest performer at the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra’s Majestic Drums concert, and was invited to make drum music videos by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office – New York and the Xiqu Centre of the West Kowloon Cultural District respectively. In 2019, it was invited by the Shanxi Jiangzhou Drum Troupe and the Xinjiang County Government of Shanxi to appear as guest performer from Hong Kong at ‘Xijiang County’s 2nd Bumper Harvest Festival and Drum Music Showcase’; also in 2019, it gave five performances at the Xiqu Centre in Hong Kong as part of the West Kowloon Cultural District’s ‘Music in the Atrium’ series. Other performances include: the group’s 10th anniversary concert in 2017; ‘Shaolin – A Music Theatre for Families’, a joint production between the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and the Chung Ying Theatre Company in 2015; Wu Hun as part of the programme of the concert featuring soprano Gong Linna and composer Lao Luo (Robert Zollitsch), ‘Tante • Uneasy and Beyond’, in 2014; and a guest appearance in one of the matches of the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens in 2012. In 2011, the group was invited to make a video recording for the RTHK television programme, Headliner; it was followed by a collaboration with the famous local rock band DSC in an unprecedented rock version of the traditional Chinese music piece, Flying Dragon and Leaping Tiger. In 2009, it performed in the Hong Kong leg match of the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix, and gave a mini concert at the MTR Hong Kong Station. Apart from all these, the group has also performed on many occasions at the invitation of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong.

Refiner Drums has been steadfast in its goal, which is to spread and develop Chinese drum music culture, through dedicated efforts to perform and continue to ‘refine’ the drum repertoire to share with the audience.