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More than 40 outstanding trainees of the Music Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will perform in the "Music Office Chamber Concert" on February 17 (Wednesday) at the Theatre of Hong Kong City Hall. A diverse repertoire of delightful solo, quartet, ensemble and chamber choral works will be featured from 7.30pm to share the joy of the Lunar New Year.
Violin soloist Wan Sin-yu will play Wieniawski's "Polonaise No.1 in D major" and oboeist Lee Ying-cheung will perform Mozart's "Concerto in C major, 1st movement". They both joined the Music Office's Instrumental Music Training Scheme at an early age. Wan obtained the LTCL Diploma in 2006 and has since been appointed Concert Master of the Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra. She is currently Concert Master of Chung Chi College Orchestra of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Lee, the Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra's principal oboeist, has won many prizes in the Hong Kong School Music Festival, including the Intermediate Class first prize in 2003, Senior Class second prize in 2005 and 2007.
Bassist Lee Yik-chung has attained ABRSM Grade 8 and won the second prize in the Hong Kong School Music Festival Junior Class when he was 14. He was the principal bassist of the Hong Kong Junior Chamber Ensemble and is a current member of the Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra. He will perform Dragonetti's "Concerto in A major, 1st movement" at the concert.
Saxophone instructor and soloist Kevin Ling will play Iturralde's "Pequena Czarda". Ling started saxophone lessons at the age of 10 at the Music Office and was awarded a scholarship to study at the Trinity College of Music in the United Kingdom, where he obtained his FTCL Diploma. He performed in the 15th World Saxophone Congress in 2009 in his capacity of a member of the Hong Kong Saxophone Quartet. As a soloist, he has also performed with the National Saxophone Choir of the United Kingdom. Ling is currently an Assistant Music Officer of the Music Office.
Tse Yuen-yau, 13, recently obtained a Performer's Diploma from the Central Conservatory of Music of China. He began his yangqin lessons at age five and continued music training in the Music Office from 2004. He joined the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra in 2008. He won the Advanced Class first prize in 2006 and Hugo Chinese Instrument Solo Award in 2008 in the Hong Kong School Music Festival and participated in the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in the United Kingdom. He will present Chen Gang's "The Sun over Taxkorgan" at the concert.
A Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra member, To Fung-lim, will perform Ma Di's "Expressions of the Qin River" at the concert. He started his dizi training in the Music Office at an early age. He won the first prize, Advanced Class, in 2007 and 2008 in the Hong Kong School Music Festival, and the Hugo Chinese Instrument Solo Award in 2009. He obtained his performer's diploma from the Central Conservatory of Music of China last year.
Erhu performer Lui Ka-yeung started music training in the Music Office at an early age and was awarded the Most Outstanding Trainee in 2008-09. He was a frequent winner in the Hong Kong School Music Festival, including the first prize, Senior Class, in 2006 and Advanced Class in 2009. Lui is currently a member of the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra. He will perform Wang Jianmin's "Scenes of Tianshan" at the concert.
The concert will also feature Brahms' "Abendlied" and Foster's "A Stephen Foster Medley" performed by the choir ensemble; Shostakovich's "Quartet No.8 in C minor, 2nd & 3rd movement" by the string quartet and Liu Xing's "April" by the Chinese plucked strings.
Members of the choir ensemble are selected from the Music Office Youth Choir which was awarded a total of four prizes at the "A Voyage of Songs" International Choral Festival in 2009 and was praised by the jury for its outstanding artistic achievement. The string quartet is made up of four outstanding members of the Hong Kong Junior Chamber Ensemble: Alvin Leung, Luen Long-yuet, Yu Ho-yin and Tang Chor-yin. Under the tutelage of the chamber musician Dr Martha Walvoord, their debut in the 2009 Hong Kong Youth Music Camp was much acclaimed. Members of the Chinese plucked strings are selected from the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra and are frequent prize-winners in the Hong Kong School Music Festival.
The Music Office runs three training programmes: Instrumental Music Training Scheme, Ensemble Training, and Outreach Music Interest Courses, which together provide music training to more than 8,000 trainees each year. Performers in the chamber concert are some of the outstanding trainees under the Instrumental Music Training Scheme or members of the ensembles.
Tickets priced at $100 and $80 for the "Music Office Chamber Concert" are now available at all URBTIX outlets. Half-price concessions are available for full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients.
For programme enquiries, please call 2796 1003 or 2582 5311 or visit the website www.lcsd.gov.hk/musicoffice . Internet bookings can be made at www.urbtix.hk and telephone reservations on 2734 9009.
Ends/Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Issued at HKT 11:01
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