**********************************************
Over 400 budding musicians, who have recently received intensive training from acclaimed local and overseas musicians at the 2014 Hong Kong Youth Music Camp, will perform a variety of Chinese and Western musical pieces at two concerts in July to showcase their training achievements for the public.
Presented by the Music Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the 2014 Hong Kong Youth Music Camp Concerts are part of the summer International Arts Carnival 2014.
The first concert, to be performed by the Camp Children's Choir, Junior Strings and Chinese Orchestra will be held at 3pm on July 20 (Sunday) at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Highlights of the programme include Mozart's joyful opera piece "Papageno ˇV Papagena Duet, from The Magic Flute"; Britten's string music piece, "Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge"; and Tang Jianping's "Convergence", which involves various percussion instruments.
The second concert will be held at 3pm on July 27 (Sunday) in the Auditorium of Tsuen Wan Town Hall, with performances by the Camp Junior Chinese Orchestra, Symphonic Band and Symphony Orchestra. The programme includes "Bangka - Abundance and Prosperity", with lively Taiwanese music elements; Balissat's "Le Premier Jour", which was inspired by the Bible's "Book of Genesis" and transports the listener from the darkness of the abyss to the joy of light; and Stravinsky's ˇ§Firebird Suite (Version 1919)", which was re-arranged from his ballet work into a suite.
The conductors for the first concert are the Artistic Director of ANIMA - Young Singers of Greater Chicago, Emily Ellsworth; former music director and conductor of the Lincoln Youth Symphony in Lincoln of Nebraska, the Orange County Youth Symphony in New York and the Wesleyan University Symphony Orchestra, Huadong Lu; and the principal conductor of the Youth Chinese Orchestra of Shenyang Conservatory of Music, Sun Peng. The conductors for the second concert are the Principal Dizi of the Taiwan Chinese Orchestra, Chen Chun-hsin; Professor of Conducting at the Basel Conservatory in Switzerland, Felix Hauswirth; and Music Director of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Dr Anthony Spain.
The Hong Kong Youth Music Camp is a major annual summer music activity of the Music Office, providing intensive training to musicians in a scenic campsite setting. Participating musicians can also enjoy recreational and sports activities at the camp.
Tickets priced at $80, $60 and $40 are now available at URBTIX. Half-price concessionary tickets are available for full-time students, people with disabilities and the minder, senior citizens aged 60 or above and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. Details of International Arts Carnival discount schemes can be obtained from www.hkiac.gov.hk.
Credit card bookings can be made at 2111 5999 and Internet booking is available at www.urbtix.hk. For programme enquiries, please call 2796 1003 or 2582 5311 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/musicoffice.
Ends/Thursday, July 3, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:00
NNNN
