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Dear Friends, It has been a busy summer for us at the CCOHK. In July the orchestra made its first tour to mainland China - to Chengdu - and performed with pianist Mary Wu and singer Sandy Lam as part of a concert to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR – hence the photo attached. In addition, members of the orchestra gave master classes in chamber music and oboe performance at the Sichuan Conservatory. Everything was very well organized in Chengdu. We also managed to visit some historical sites including the thatched cottage of the famous poet Du Fu and savour spicy food from the region. Musically speaking, September has been quite an eclectic month. Just recently we played classic-rock fusion with YROCK at Cyberport. What a unique and meaningful experience it was for us to join hands with talented teenagers on stage in creating "new" music! There has been talk about a collaboration with YROCK for well over a year now, so it was great to see it finally come to fruition. At present we are gearing up for some baroque and early classical repertoire in our upcoming master series concert entitled "Sound the Trumpet". Talking of which I hope you will join us for this event to be held on 2 October at the City Hall Concert Hall. American trumpeter Allen Vizzutti is one of those rare trumpeters who dedicates himself professionally to both classical and jazz and is comfortable at playing both genres on the same programme. Vizzutti says that he gladly mixes several genres in a concert, but always with the classical part being played first. Indeed there are very few trumpeters who can manage Bach’s Brandenburg concerto No. 2, let alone anything else on the same programme. This is a treat for us as an orchestra, as we rarely get a chance to play this chamber music gem which also offers solo parts for the orchestral players. (Soloists from the CCOHK include flautist Matthew Wu, myself on the oboe and baroque violinist Andrea Zanchetta - previously a member of the chamber orchestra “Interpreti Veneziani”.). Also featured on the programme is one of Vizzutti’s most famed pieces, "The Carnival of Venus", a variation on "The Carnival of Venice" which is regarded as one of the most difficult trumpet pieces ever written due to the wide range of the solo part and the technical demands on the soloist. A video recording of Vizzutti playing this piece can be viewed by clicking here. We look forward to having you as part of our audience!
Leanne Nicholls |
Director’s Notes