*****************************************
Wang Kwong Chinese Orchestra will next month (October) present the concert "In the Deep of the Night, the Gurgling Water Reminds Me of an Old Friend", featuring works of Chinese music master Peng Xiu-wen who was the teacher of the conductor Zhang Dasen.
The programme includes Peng Xiu-wen's works"Delivering a Bumper Crop with Joy", symphonic picture "A Thousand Sails Put Out to Sea" (Hong Kong Premiere), tone poem "Flowing River", fantasia "The Terra Cotta Warriors", "Song of the General"; and Zhang Dasen's works for Chinese orchestra,"Strolling Along the Su Embankment", for pipa and orchestra "Song of the Frontier", and more.
Founded in 1962, Wang Kwong Chinese Orchestra is a long-established and active amateur Chinese orchestral group in Hong Kong. Its motto is "Let's play our melody, get our culture known". The orchestra's main aim is to promote and develop Chinese music. Since 1981, the orchestra has initiated collaboration between Hong Kong amateur groups and artists from the Mainland by inviting famous performers from China to Hong Kong. In June 2005, Zhang Dasen was invited by the orchestra to be a guest conductor at the Memorial Concert for Master Peng Xiu-wen. The flair and panache of his conducting demonstrated how a conductor could inject life and spirit into an orchestra, reach out to the audience through music, and let people experience the beauty of Chinese musical culture. Zhang was a student of Peng Xiuwen, who was considered the "father of contemporary Chinese music".
Zhang has written music on a diverse range of subjects and formats, including orchestral, concerto, ensemble and chamber music. He is particularly adept at instrumentation. His discography includes "Moonlight over the Spring River" for pipa, and "The Swallows Herald the Advent of Spring" for liuqin. While serving as the concert master and conductor of the China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra, Zhang led the company on many overseas tours and gave concerts in such famous venues as the Goldener Saal of the Musikverein, Vienna; the Palais des Nations of Geneva, Switzerland; the Grand Theatre of Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium; the Lincoln Center Concert Hall in New York; and the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington, DC. The orchestra also gave New Year concerts and touring performances in 40 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou.
Also performing in next month's concert will be Wong Chi-ching (pipa), Guo Yazhi (Suona) and Ngai Kwun-wa (Jinghu).
Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, concert "In the Deep of the Night, the Gurgling Water Reminds Me of an Old Friend" by Wang Kwong Chinese Orchestra will be at 8pm on October 25 (Sunday) at the Auditorium, Tsuen Wan Town Hall. Tickets priced at $150, $120 and $90 are now available at all URBTIX outlets. Half-price concessions will be granted to senior citizens, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. (Limited tickets for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients are available on a first-come, first-served basis.)
For programme enquiries, call 2268 7321; for ticketing enquiries and reservations call 2734 9009. Internet bookings are available at www.urbtix.hk. For credit card telephone bookings, call 2111 5999. Visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp for more information on the programme.
Ends/Friday, September 25, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:50
NNNN
