Composing Macaoness: Contemporary Music and the Construction of Post-Colonial Macao’s Cultural Identity

• Applicant: Dr. Sio Pan Leong
• Subject Area: Musicology ; Asian Studies
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 566509679

This project aims to investigate how a growing corpus of government-commissioned “Macao-themed” contemporary art music serves as a strategic mechanism for the Macao government in constructing post-colonial Macao’s cultural identity. These compositions, commissioned by the Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau since 1989, emerged during a time when the government endeavoured to construct a multicultural “East-meets-West” identity for Macao that aimed both to facilitate the region’s integration into China and enhance its global visibility following the transfer of sovereignty in 1999. The significance of these compositions stems not only from their role as curated cultural narratives and representations of Macao driven by the government, but also from the fact that they have led to the emergence of a distinct canon of “music with Macao characteristics.” To investigate the strategic significance of these compositions within Macao’s identity-building agenda, this project will first examine the Macao government’s broader goals and strategies for identity-building, as well as the institutional framework guiding the commissions. Building on these examinations, the project will then analyse how Macao’s cultural identity is expressed through these compositions. Specifically, it will draw on Stuart Hall’s concept of cultural identity as a discursive construct, examining the Macao-themed compositions themselves, alongside the perspectives of key stakeholders and surrounding publicity materials, as integral parts of the discourse through which the government constructs and articulates the cultural identity of post-colonial Macao. By investigating the under-discussed cultural and political significance of these compositions, this project will not only contribute to research on post-colonial Macao but also holds particular relevance for musicological discussions on the entangled history of European and East Asian contemporary music, post-coloniality, and cultural identity. It will also contribute to global music studies by bringing greater attention to Macao’s contributions to contemporary art music—which is often overshadowed by other regions like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China—as well as by cataloguing and analysing an emerging canon of Macao music. Furthermore, this project will encourage broader reflections and stimulate dialogues on the “Macaoness” of Macao music and Macao culture, representing a timely endeavour amidst Macao’s ongoing identity-building efforts.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position