The Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra (HKYCO) of the Music Office under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will hold the Singapore Tour Pre-tour cum Annual Concert at 3pm on December 9 (Sunday) at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. The programme will be a pre-tour performance for the Hong Kong audience to enjoy musical pieces selected from the Singapore concert tour programme. The young orchestra members will showcase their talents by playing a wide-range of Chinese orchestra repertoire.
The concert will be conducted by the instructors of the Music Office Kwok Kin-ming and Tsui Ying-fai. Together with the orchestra, guest soloists Yeung Ka-wai (erhu) and Chew Lixian (sheng) will perform "Ode to King of Western Chu", which was composed for erhu, and "Rhapsody of Tianshan", a musical piece fully demonstrating advantages of keyed sheng, respectively. "Ode to King of Western Chu" praises the Chinese character of courage and loyalty in love, while "Rhapsody of Tianshan" with its strong rhythm, conjures joyful images of the bold Tianshan people.
The repertoire also includes "The City that Never Sleeps" from "Four Seasons", which reflects the vitality of Hong Kong throughout the night; "Commander Mu Guiying" with its heroine spirit and Peking opera musical elements; "June – A Night in Pasir Ris", which was inspired by the spectacular scenery of Pasir Ris, a tourist destination in Singapore; the symphonic poem "Flowing Water", which mimics the sound of water from surging to still; and "Somewhere Far Away – Medley of Folksongs from China's West" arranged by merging four famous songs from "China's West".
Established in 1978, the HKYCO has around 90 members and has toured in Macao, Singapore, Malaysia, the UK, France, Australia, the US and Canada. In mid-December, the HKYCO will once again visit Singapore and stage an exchange performance with the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra (SNYCO). Guest erhu soloist Yeung Ka-wai studies at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts majoring erhu and gaohu. She has won awards in various competitions and is currently principal of the erhu section in the HKYCO. Guest sheng soloist Chew Lixian, an active member in the Chinese orchestra sector of Singapore, performs extensively with various orchestras. She is currently the sheng principal of the SNYCO.
Tickets priced at $55, $75 and $95 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 2796 7523 or 2582 5311 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/mo/activities/upcoming/hkycho-singapore.html.
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