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Director's Notes
Dear Friends, The beginning of our 08/09 season with TWO QUEENS in concert made for an exceptionally memorable moment. Harp performances are few and far between in Hong Kong and it was wonderful to see such a big crowd of harp music lovers at the concert. Catrin Finch, former royal harpist to HRH Prince Charles, played on a special Verde Minerva Princess Harp by Salvi which was shipped out for the performance, courtesy of the Hong Kong Harp Services Limited. This rare and visually stunning instrument was auctioned after the performance and sold to Ms. Ivy Kwok. To listen back to Catrin Finch's interview with Jonathan Douglas on the "Morning Call" programme on RTHK Radio 4, click here (start listening at 26:45 in the third hour of the programme). Shortly after our season-opening concert the CCOHK performed as the official orchestra of the 2008 Hong Kong International Piano Competition organized by the Chopin Society of Hong Kong. Besides appearing as a chamber orchestra for a round of Mozart piano concertos, we also expanded to a large-sized orchestra with several invited musicians to play the great romantic concertos by Rachmaninov and Chopin. It was an incredible week for us – incredibly hard work to get through a different programme of concertos for the competition each day and an incredible experience to work with conductor Christopher Warren-Green from the London Chamber Orchestra and the talented young pianists from all over world. The jury of the competition chaired by Vladimir Ashkenazy boasts many illustrious names and would have to be one of the best in the world. In the final gala concert on 21 October we had the privilege to perform with jury members Gary Graffman, Cristina Ortiz and Pascal Roge in a rare and fabulous concert of piano concertos by Prokofiev, Ravel and Rachmaninov conducted by Ashkenazy. What a precious moment it was to perform Prokofiev's rarely heard concerto No. 4 for the left hand with Gary Graffman in the week of his eightieth birthday! Here are a few photos of the event:
December sees us playing in the suburbs in the Pokfulam area. On 12 November we played Mozart's Violin concerto No. 5 with violinist Yao Jue at the University of Hong Kong's Loke Yew Hall and on 22 November we look forward to returning to Bel-Air for another performance. The month of December promises to be full of Christmas musical fare. On 5 and 6 December we will stage the third re-run of "The Snowman & The Bear". Once again we will be showing the animated films on the big screen as the orchestra performs the music live. "The Snowman" tells the heartwarming story of a young boy who builds a snowman which comes to life and takes the boy on a magical journey. The Snowman story has become a British icon over the years. It is thus especially fitting for us to have RTHK Radio 4’s Jonathan Douglas as the narrator. Jonathan was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 30 November in London for his contribution to music and the arts in Hong Kong. As the boy and the snowman fly over snow-capped landscapes, the famous theme song "Walking in the Air" will be sung by twelve-year-old solo boy soprano Benjamin Schrader from Island School (Saturday 3:00pm and 7:30pm performances). The tale of "The Bear" will be narrated by Matthew Hale (back again by popular demand!!). The story is all about a girl named Tilly who finds a polar bear in her bedroom one night and embarks on a fantastical bear-ride through the crisp Christmastime night. The theme song "Somewhere a Star Shines for Me" will be performed by three solo girl sopranos aged twelve: Karen Daley from Diocesan Girls' School (Friday 7:30pm performance), Vivian Yau from Diocesan Girls' School (Saturday 3:00pm performance) and Natalie Lu from St. Paul's Co-Educational School (Saturday 7:30pm performance). I would like to extend my congratulations to these five talented young singers who faced tough competition in the preceding auditions for the solo parts. It has been particularly heartbreaking to hear some beautiful boy soprano voices undergo voice changes along the way… Another musical tradition that has developed over the years is the annual Christmas Eve concert in Hong Kong Park organized by RTHK Radio 4. For three years in a row, RTHK Radio 4's Christmas Concert in the Park has been a major attraction for those who enjoy listening to festive music in an idyllic surrounding on Christmas Eve. This year, we go global - performing a mix of music from different parts of the world! Besides Christmas carols you will hear excerpts from Karl Jenkins’ Adiemus and Ariel Ramirez’s Misa Criolla and Navidad Nuestra. The performers include percussionists Lung Heung-wing and Mark Lung, vocalist Angelita Li, the Hong Kong Children's Choir and the chorus of the Opera Society of Hong Kong conducted by Colin Touchin. The concert is FREE of charge. If you can't get a seat you can always capture the atmosphere outside on the TV screens or live on Radio 4. For more details click here. Leanne Nicholls |
