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Following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund:

Award-winning students enthralled the audience with their outstanding musical and dance performances during the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund Scholarship Presentation Ceremony 1999/2000 held today (Monday).

The eight awardees will be pursuing their studies in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Beijing for a maximum of two years. It was the first time that the Fund awarded scholarships to support studies in the Mainland.

Since its inception in 1980, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund has awarded over 200 scholarships to talented musicians and dancers and the sum of the awards amounted to more than $17 million. Many of the young talents in previous years have achieved outstanding results in the local fields of music and dance. Examples are Ms Wing-sie Yip, resident conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and Mr So Hon-wah, principal dancer of the Hong Kong Ballet.

"The award of a scholarship brings a turning point to my life," Miss Yuki Ip Po-ching, one of the scholarship recipients, remarked in excitement.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Professor Chan Wing-wah, said: "To explore and cultivate music and dance talent for Hong Kong, the Fund shall keep on making contributions to meet increasing needs."

Also officiating at the ceremony, Steward of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mr Brian Stevenson, said: "The Club has always been an ardent supporter of the cultural development in Hong Kong. Over the years, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has donated about $560 million to support various art and cultural projects." Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Peter Cheung, is also one of the guests of honour.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund was set up with a donation of $10 million from The Hong Kong Jockey Club for the promotion and development of education and training in the fields of music and dance in Hong Kong. Apart from the award of scholarships, the Fund also provides grants to help local schools and organizations to acquire or repair musical instruments and dance equipment, and to set up orchestras or dance groups. In the past 19 years, the Fund has granted a total of $17 million for the purpose.

End/Monday, July 26, 1999