Over 1 000 musicians bring beautiful music in 2024 Fiesta of Music Office Bands, Choirs and Orchestras series
More than 1 000 young musicians from 17 bands, choirs and orchestras of the Music Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will jointly present a variety of Chinese and Western classics at five concerts of the series of 2024 Fiesta of Music Office Bands, Choirs and Orchestras (Fiesta) in April.
The New Territories Youth Strings, the Hong Kong Youth Strings, the Island Youth Strings and the Kowloon Youth Strings will perform at the string orchestras' concert "Let's Dance!" to be held at 3pm on April 4 (Thursday) at the Tuen Mun Town Hall Auditorium. They will perform lively dance music including Béla Bartók's "Romanian Folk Dances", "Waltz" from Leonard Bernstein's "Divertimento", Perry Fletcher's "Folk Tune and Fiddle Dance" and "Jig" from Gustav Holst's "St. Paul's Suite, Op. 29" to mark the opening of the Fiesta.
The second concert, "Wishes of Our Hearts!", will be held at 7.30pm on April 7 (Sunday) at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall. There, the Music Office Children's Choir, the Music Office Youth Choir and the Music Office Junior Symphony Orchestra will perform choral and symphonic works including the lyrical Jacob Narverud's "Lunar Lullaby", Mark Burrows' "A Light of Hope, A Song of Peace", Joseph Haydn's "Symphony No.99 in E-flat major, 1st movement" and "Orpheus in the Underworld Overture" by Jacques Offenbach.
The Chinese orchestras' concert "Martial Arts ‧ Heroes" will be held at 3pm on April 21 (Sunday) at the Sha Tin Town Hall Auditorium. The Music Office Children's Chinese Orchestra, the Island Youth Chinese Orchestra, the New Territories Youth Chinese Orchestra and the Kowloon Youth Chinese Orchestra will present all-time Chinese music favourites, including the stirring and passionate Lei Zhenbang's "Chinese Martial Arts", legendary composer Joseph Koo's "A Medley of Themes from Television Drama Series (1)" and his "The Love is Strong within Our Hearts" for the television drama "The Return of the Condor Heroes", as well as "Decree of the Sichuan General", which vividly depicts hero figures, to share with the audience the Chinese musical gems in pop culture. This concert is one of the programmes of the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival 2024 and the Chinese Culture Promotion Series.
The bands' concert "Sounds of Asia", which will feature the Music Office Youth Brass Band, the Kowloon Youth Symphonic Band and the New Territories Youth Symphonic Band, will be held at 7.30pm on April 27 (Saturday) at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium Arena. They will perform Paul Voet's "Far Eastern Dream", Benjamin Yeo's "Legend of the Ancient Hero" and Satoshi Yagisawa's "Sunshine on Hill in Spring", showcasing fascinating band music full of Asian flavours.
The finale concert "Musicland", featuring the Music Office Junior Chinese Orchestra, the Hong Kong Children's Symphonic Band and the Music Office Junior Symphonic Band, will be held at 3pm on April 28 (Sunday) at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium Arena. The young musicians will perform Chinese orchestral and symphonic band works filled with cheerful buoyancy, including Peng Xiuwen's "Moon Dance of Axi", Scott Watson's "Extraordinary Machines of Clockwork and Steam" and Dmitri Shostakovich's "Folk Dances”.
Tickets of the string orchestras' concert "Let's Dance!" are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). Tickets for "Wishes of Our Hearts!" and "Martial Arts ‧ Heroes" will be available one month before the concert dates, while tickets for the "Sounds of Asia" and "Musicland" will be available starting March 27. Tickets are priced at $55, $65 and $75. For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries, please call 2796 7523 or 3842 7784 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/mo/activities/traineesevents/musicnconcert/2024-Fiesta.html.