*********************************************************

Following the well-received performance of "Christmas Wonders" by Hong Kong Sinfonietta in December, the orchestra will bring music lovers a feast of beautiful music at a concert named "Dream Weavers and Music Makers".

The concert to be led by the famous conductor Murry Sidlin will be held in

the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall at 8pm on January 21, 2001 (Sunday).

Murry Sidlin is a famous conductor. He began his career as Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony under Sergiu Commission, and was appointed by Antal Dorati to be Resident Conductor of the National Symphony. He has appeared with such orchestras and conductors as Houston, Saint Louis, San Francisco, Denver, San Antonio, etc. In opera, he collaborated with American director Arvin Brown at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut in Marc Blitzstein's "Regina" , Britten's "Albert Herring", and the aforementioned "The Tender Land" by Copland. He conducted the American

premiere of the 1926 masterpiece "King Rover" by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski at the Long Beach Opera and Prokofiev's "The Love for Three Organes" at Indiana University's opera theatre. Sidlin is currently the

resident conductor of the Oregon Symphony, is also Artistic Director of the Cascade Festival in Bend, Orego, Director of the Oregon Symphony Conducting Apprenticeship Program at Pacific University.

In the coming concert, Chinese erhu virtuoso and excellent composer George Gao will also be invited to give performance. Gao graduated from Shanghai Conservatory of Music. During the period from 1979 to 1989, George won prizes in numerous competitions. Most notable were the prizes he won in

1985 from the most prestigious of all erhu competitions, the Beijing China National Invitational Erhu Competition. He received three awards: first prize, the best performance prize of compulsory works, and the best performance prize of the optional works. In his musical composition, he has made pioneering efforts in introducing into erhu music a vast range of new musical influences. He has been experimenting with the fusion of traditional Chinese music and western musical styles, including classical and contemporary music, Pop, New Age and, jazz music. Gao's efforts have helped to expand the erhu's musical horizons and extend its influence on the stage of world music. His erhu performance have also been used in numerous

other films and TV dramas, including the popular sci-fi TV drama "Earth: Final Conflict" (by the award winning composers, Micky Erbe and Maribeth Solomon of Toronto, Canada), which has been nominated for an EMMY as "Outstanding Main title Theme Music".

Highlights of the evening's programme will include Debussy's "Prelude a l'Apres-midi d'un Faun" and Brahms's "Symphony No.2 in D, Op.73". Audience will also have a chance to appreciate the work by renowned Chinese Composer

He Xuntian - "Four Dreams".

He Xuntian was born in Suining, a small city of Sichuan Province. He studied music theory by himself at the early age of eight, and began to write music. He graduated from the Composition Department of the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in 1982. He created the RD method of musical composition, and became the first composer that based his composition on his

own theory. His major works include symphonies like "Four Dreams", "Telepathy"; chamber music such as "Two of the Earthly Branches", "Phonism", "Imagine the Sound"; folk orchestral music like "Caprice of Dabo River"; and three new song albums "Yellow Children", "Sister Drum", "Voice from the Sky", etc. He has won many awards at both national and international

musical composition competitions, the major awards include the International New Music Composer Competition presented He Xuntian The Outstanding Musical Achievement Award 1989-1990 in USA, an award that goes to those who make

remarkable achievements in the development of contemporary music; The Gold Tripod Award in Taiwan in 1995; IBC Cambridge England presented him The Gold Star Award and The American Biographical Institute presented by The World Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, etc.

Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, tickets priced at HK$150, $120 and $80 are now available at URBTIX outlets. Half-price concessions will be granted to all senior citizens, people with disabilities and full-time students.

Programme enquiries can be made on 2734 2935 while ticketing enquiries and reservations on 2734 9009.

End/Tuesday, December 26, 2000

NNNN