The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (May 11) that Harbour Road Sports Centre in Wan Chai District has been reopened. The sports centre was temporarily closed yesterday (May 10) due to an unforeseen incident.

     The services provided by Mobile Library 11 have been resumed after completion of urgent repairs to the mobile library van, a Leisure and Cultural Services Department spokesman announced today (May 11).

     The service points of Mobile Library 11 are Easeful Court in Tsing Yi; Cho Yiu Chuen, Kwai Shing West Estate and Kwai Shing East Estate in Kwai Chung; Sun Chui Estate in Sha Tin; Po Tin Estate in Tuen Mun; and Tin Wah Estate in Tin Shui Wai.

     For enquiries about Mobile Library 11 services, please call 2479 1055.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present appreciation talks in June to introduce English madrigals from their origin to their heyday. The talks will be hosted in Cantonese by Patrick Chiu with live a cappella music by SingFest Choral Academy. Details are as follows:
 
June 13 (Wednesday)
Topic: "Sing we and chant it" – The genesis of English madrigal
English madrigals flourished in England in the late 16th century. This lecture traces the history and origin of English madrigals with demonstrations to illustrate the stylistic changes from Italian madrigals to English madrigals.
 
June 20 (Wednesday)
Topic: "The Triumphs of Oriana" (1601) – Songs for Queen Elizabeth I
"The Triumphs of Oriana" is an extravagant musical compliment paid to Queen Elizabeth I by Thomas Morley, Gentleman of the Chapel Royal. Published in 1601, it consists of 25 madrigals by 23 different composers including some of the most well-known ones. Attendees will listen to the story of this brilliant collection and see how it captured the musical imagination of the time.
 
June 27 (Wednesday)
Topic: Oriana's story continues – "Choral songs in honour of Her Majesty Queen Victoria" (1899)
In 1899, imitating the idea of "The Triumphs of Oriana", another collection of madrigals was published to mark Queen Victoria's 80th birthday. This lecture will look at how these secular part-songs continued to intrigue composers in the 19th century, a time when England entered its great age of industrial expansion and economic progress.
 
     Born in Hong Kong, Patrick Chiu is a choral conductor and is dedicated to the promotion of choral music and education on the topic. During his period of residency in Vienna, Chiu participated in various local professional performances and received tuition from professors at the Vienna Conservatory. Later he earned a scholarship to study at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, where he received his master's degree in choral conducting. During his stay in Europe and the United States, he worked with and studied under world-renowned maestros including Helmuth Rilling, James Levine and Harry Christophers. Chiu won two Gold Awards in the World Choir Games with the Hong Kong Melody Makers in 2010 and was a recipient of the Award for Young Artist in the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards 2012. Chiu is the founder of Hong Kong SingFest.
 
     All talks will be held at 7.30pm at the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Space Museum. Tickets priced at $50 (for each lecture) are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_562.html.

     To encourage members of the public to share the joy of reading and arouse their interest in reading, the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has opened the Reading KOL Short Video Competition 2018 for enrolment. The public are welcome to share their joyful experience of reading or to promote reading in a creative manner through a video within two minutes.
 
     The competition consists of three categories, namely the primary, secondary and open categories (for all ages). The entry video may be produced in Cantonese, Putonghua or English, and must be submitted together with a title and a brief description on the concept of the video in not more than 100 words, in Chinese or English.
 
     Entry is on an individual basis. Each participant can only enter the competition in one category. While more than one entry is allowed, each participant will only qualify for one award. The judging criteria include content presentation, creativity, interestingness, use of techniques and positivity. The submission deadline is June 11.
 
     Each entry category will have one Champion, a First Runner-up, a Second Runner-up and three Merit Awards, in which the most viewed finalist entry in each category will be presented with a Most Viewed Award. Cash coupons ranging from $1,000 to $8,000 and certificates will be awarded to the winners. To encourage more participation of students, the Most Active Participating School Award will be given out in the primary and secondary categories. All winners and winning schools will be notified by post in July.
 
     The competition is supported by the Education Bureau with Sing Tao Daily and Smart Parents as media partners. It is part of a series of vibrant activities organised by the HKPL in support of a reading-for-all campaign themed "Discover and Share the Joy of Reading" launched by the Government earlier. For details of the competition, please visit www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/extension-activities/page/133096/reading-kol or call 2798 2870.

     The following list of general holidays for 2019 was gazetted today (May 11) for public information:
 

     "As the Birthday of the Buddha in 2019 falls on a Sunday, the day following it is designated as a general holiday in substitution," a Government spokesman said.