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Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Hong Kong Oratorio Society (HKOS)'s concert "War & Peace: Haydn & Britten" will be performed in September.
The programme includes Haydn's Movements I and III from "Trumpet Concerto in E-flat" and "Missa in tempore belli in C" (Mass in Time of War), and Britten's "The World of Spirit".
The HKOS was founded in 1956 by Wong Ming-tung and a group of music enthusiasts. It is one of the most active choirs, with the longest history and largest membership in Hong Kong. The HKOS has presented more than 300 concerts in the past 50 years. Its repertoire covers oratorios and major choral works by classical and contemporary composers, including masterpieces by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Chinese composers Xian Xinghai and Huang Zi. For many of these works, the HKOS presented the debut performances in Hong Kong. The HKOS took its name from its favourite genre of repertoire, the oratorio, which refers to extended choral works with religious or mythological stories. In recent years the HKOS has commissioned composers Professor Chan Wing-wah, Victor Chan and Huang Anlun to compose choral works for it to perform. The choir has performed under the batons of many famous conductors and with various professional orchestras. It has also gone on concert tours overseas and has performed in many major cities in the Mainland. The present Music Director, Professor Chan, took over the baton in 1995 after several successful collaborations with the HKOS.
Professor Chan will join forces with young guest conductor Vivian Ip and renowned vocalists including soprano Nancy Yuen, alto Louise Kwong, tenor Sam Kan and bass Patrick Chan, as well as trumpeter King Ng, the SKH Lam Woo Memorial Secondary School Choir and the Hong Kong Strings, in this concert.
The Hong Kong Oratorio Society's concert "War & Peace: Haydn & Britten" will be staged at 8pm on September 15 (Saturday) at the Auditorium, Tsuen Wan Town Hall. Tickets priced at $120, $100 and $80 are now available at all URBTIX outlets, on the Internet and by credit card telephone booking. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for CSSA recipients available on a first-come, first-served basis). A group booking discount scheme is also available. Please refer to the programme leaflet for details.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7321, or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/000003fc.html . For ticketing enquiries, please call 2734 9009. For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For Internet bookings, please visit www.urbtix.hk .
A pre-concert talk (conducted in Cantonese) entitled "War & Peace in Music" will be held at 3pm on September 1 (Saturday) at AC1, Level 4, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ends/Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:52
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