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The following is issued on behalf of the Provisional Urban Council:

Outstanding local soprano Rosaline Pi and UK-based guitarist Gerald Garcia will fill the Hong Kong City Hall Theatre with music ranging respectively from the classical to romantic melodies from Spain and the Americas next month.

Pi, who will give a recital on December 12(Saturday), will be singing works by Schumann, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Schubert, with accompaniment on the piano from Choi Sown-le, on the viola from Francis Kan and from Choy Kwok-tin on the clarinet.

The guitar performance by Garcia, on December 13(Sunday), will feature Catalan folksongs (two of which are Christmas songs) by Llobet, Brouwer's "El Decameron Negro" which draws from erotic African tales, and Turina's "Fandanguillo", inspired by Flamenco rhythm. Garcia will also play works by Albeniz, Rodrigo, Piazzolla and Baden-Powell.

Rosaline Pi's voice talent was recognized early through the numerous awards and scholarships she won from the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival Voice Competitions. While still in secondary school, she had voice training with the illustrious Barbara Fei.

She went on to obtain a music degree (Voice) at Canada's McGill University and had been tutored by Winston Purdy, Betty Doroschuk and Alex Gray, besides also learning lieder with Jan Simons and opera with Polyna Savridi. She later won the Lieder Class Scholarship in the Canadian Kiwanis Music Festival.

After her return to Hong Kong, she has performed as a soloist in concerts with critical acclaim. Since 1994 she has sung title roles in Mozart's operas, "The Magic Flute", "Don Giovanni", "The Marriage of Figaro" and Verdi's "La Traviata" and "Rigoletto". She now teaches voice at The Hong Kong Academy For Performing Arts".

Gerald Garcia has been said of this by guitarist John Williams: "Anyone interested in hearing the guitar at its best should put Gerald Garcia at the top of their list."

Garcia, who had played throughout Europe and Asia and has recently gone as far as to Borneo and the Arctic Circle, is both a guitarist and a music composer for film and live productions.

He has given recitals with many leading groups, soloists and actors including the London Sinfonietta, Paco Pena, Richard Baker and Leo McKern. As a session musician, he has worked with such diverse talents as Michel Legrand, Barbara Streisand, Larry Coryell and Wayne Shorter.

In October 1995, Garcia toured China in a duo with guitarist John Williams, playing to audiences of tens of thousands of Chinese guitarists and teaching at Beijing and Shanghai conservatoires.

Tickets at $90 and $50 for both recitals are now available at all URBTIX outlets, with half-price concession for senior citizens, people with disabilities and full-time students.

Reservation of tickets can be made at 2734 9009. Enquiries on the soprano recital by Rosaline Pi can be directed to 2734 2925, and on the guitar recital by Gerald Garcia to 2734 2926.

End/Thursday, November 26, 1998

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