Creative arts might appear to some as a far cry from science and technology, but the spirit of creativity indeed transcends disciplinary boundary and is indispensable to scientific discovery and technological innovation. The creative arts program developed by the School of Humanities and Social Science is introduced in this context to transform this idea of education, to create opportunities for HKUST students from different disciplines to witness creativity in action and experiment with their own creative potential in music courses. 

A highlighted event of the creative arts education program is The Intimacy of Creativity: The Bright Sheng Partnership: Composers Meet Performers in Hong Kong, an annual two-week Partnership devoted to promoting an intimate dialogue between composers and performers hosted by the School of Humanities and Social Science. Led by Artistic Director Prof. Bright Sheng and sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Helmut Sohmen in Memory of Sir Yue-Kong Pao CBE JP, students and general audiences are given a unique opportunity to witness composers engage in in-depth discussions with performers, revise their chamber music compositions during open discussion sessions and present the revised compositions in public concerts.

Hailed by the Financial Times as "the city's most innovative music experience", the 2011 inaugural season was held during 25 April - 8 May, 2011 and featured Richard Stoltzman, world-renowned Grammy Award®- winning clarinet soloist; Yehudi Wyner, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and pianist ; and the Daedalus Quartet, the 2005-2007 Lincoln Center Two Quartet, all of whom were joined by emerging composers from around the world.  Activities included two internationally-acclaimed World Premiere Concerts at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts; Preview Concerts and Open Discussions, and a series of public lectures on music.

Following this year's success, The Intimacy of Creativity returns to Hong Kong during 23 April – 6 May, 2012 for its exciting second season. In 2012, Artistic Director Bright Sheng will be joined by a stellar cast of musicians. New works from a number of emerging composers selected worldwide will be presented at two World Premiere Concerts.

Stay tuned for more details of the upcoming season of the Intimacy of Creativity at:www.ic.shss.ust.hk!

Also note the hands-on music courses offered at HKUST, including HUMA2103: Introduction to Music Composition, where students compose, attend workshop, and present their works at a public performance; and the newly created HUMA3000G: Chamber Music Making, where students selected through audition take part in weekly coaching sessions with renowned violinist and Adjunct Professor Takako Nishizaki and present a public performance.