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The Hong Kong City Chinese Orchestra will collaborate with renowned conductors and Chinese musicians for three concerts in January and February.
The first concert will be at 8pm on January 5, 2013 (Saturday), at the Theatre, Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre. Under the batons of Li Fubin and Ching Sau-wing, the orchestra will perform excerpts from "Dream of the Red Chamber Suite", "Scenes of Yunnan", "Daybreak on a Snowy Mountain in Spring" and "Ballad of Northern Henan". Renowned zheng soloist Ng Hiu-hung, gaohu soloist Lei Yeying, erhu soloist Wu Siu-hin and tenor Lin Qinghui will also perform in the concert.
World renowned conductor He Zhanhao will join Ching Sau-wing in the second performance, which will take place at 3pm, January 27 (Sunday), at the Auditorium, Yuen Long Theatre. The orchestra will perform He's "The Butterfly Lovers", as well as excerpts from "Dream of the Red Chamber Suite", "Scenes of Yunnan", "In Celebration of Good Times", and "Autumn Moon over a Placid Lake" with Ng Hiu-hung, Zeng Qiujian (gaohu), Ge Li (suona) and Cheng Chawen (dizi).
In the last concert, the orchestra will perform "Scenes of Yunnan", "In Celebration of Good Times", "Remembrance" and "Torrents of the River" under conductors Li Fubin and Chan Kwok-fai. Featuring Ge Li, Guo Jiaying (yangqin), Wu Siu-hin and Chan Chun-nin (dizi), the concert will be held at 8pm on February 2 (Saturday), at the Auditorium, Tai Po Civic Centre.
He Zhanhao is a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. One of his best-known works is the violin concerto "The Butterfly Lovers", which has become a classic in Chinese music. In 2001 Radio Television Hong Kong's "Listeners' Picks: Ten Favourite Classics of the Millennium", "The Butterfly Lovers" shared the list with Western masterpieces by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.
Li Fubin was awarded a Master's degree in composition and conducting at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music in 1998. He is a professor in conducting at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music. He has a wide-ranging conducting repertoire and is a prolific composer with many acclaimed works to his credit.
Ching Sau-wing is a renowned erhu performer. He graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music under Min Huifen, Xiao Baiyong and Xu Jiangde, and in composition and conducting under He Zhanhao and Xia Feiyun. Ching has won many prizes including a class one award at the National Chinese Music Solo Competition. Ching has been actively devoted to promoting Chinese music in Hong Kong through training ensemble groups and serving as conductor in many concerts.
Chan Kwok-fai is a seasoned music practitioner in Hong Kong. He works as a conductor and is also a yangqin instructor in the Music Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Music Office. His achievements in the academic field are clearly demonstrated by the many outstanding students trained by him, who have themselves become professionals in yangqin teaching and performance.
Established in 1994, the Hong Kong City Chinese Orchestra has endeavoured to promote Chinese culture, to enhance the development of Chinese music in the territory, and to foster extensive exchange between local and overseas music circles. In 2000, the orchestra organised a series of five concerts and 11 seminars in "A Retrospective Look at Chinese Music in the Twentieth Century". The programme attracted great interest from music circles all over the world.
The concerts by the Hong Kong City Chinese Orchestra are presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Tickets ranging from $80 to $160 are now available at 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 maximum discount of 20 per cent is offered for a group booking package.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/program_119.html. Ticketing enquiries can be made on 2734 9009 and credit card telephone bookings on 2111 5999. Tickets can also be booked online at www.urbtix.hk.
Ends/Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:10
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