Director's Notes

Dear Friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! MAY PEACE AND JOY BE WITH YOU THROUGHOUT 2009!

It is hard to believe that we are almost half-way through our ninth concert season! I was pleased to note that Jean Thorel's appointment as chief conductor of the CCOHK was recognized as “one of the more interesting developments in Hong Kong's orchestral scene” in a recent SCMP article summing up music in 2008. Click here to read excerpts from the article. The past three months have been jam-packed with twelve concerts, one recording and one TV broadcast. After a year of absence (in Dec 2007 we toured to Italy) it was good to play again for the RTHK Radio 4 Christmas concert in the park – an event which seems to have become an annual event. If you missed being there you can watch and/or listen to it back by accessing the following link:here. Here are a few pictures of the event starring conductor Colin Touchin, vocalist Angelita Li and percussionists Lung Heung-wing and Mark Lung:

This year has been one of a number of collaborations. In December we enjoyed the opportunity to perform together with 14 members of the Tokyo New City Orchestra for the ASKA Symphonic Concert. The wonderful voice of ASKA was a big discovery for those of us less acquainted with Japanese pop music. It was great to see Jacky Cheung there in the audience too! Here's a photo taken after the event with members of the CCOHK and the Tokyo New City Orchestra. ASKA is standing in the second row second from the left.

Our Snowman & The Bear concerts (with film) were yet again a huge success. It was yet again so good to see so many families with children as young as three coming to the concert hall during the festive season to hear LIVE MUSIC. Narrator Matthew Hale wowed us yet again with his impeccable preparation. After searching the stage furiously for his lost polar bear, he had everyone gasping as he drew a hand-made paper-mached Bear book from his shopping bag from which he read the story. The concert ended in merry-making with music, snowflakes, balloons and a visit from Santa who adorned boy sopranos Benjamin Schrader and Alistair Sewell with an original Snowman scarf. I would like to take this opportunity to thank UBS, our major sponsor of the event, who made it possible for the Hong Kong public to enjoy what one of our audience members described as "a true Christmas treat". Please click here to read an article on it all in the Sing Tao Daily News.

For our first concert in 2009 we will be staging a unique programme with vocal phenomenon Joerg Waschinski. Joerg Waschinski is one of the few male sopranos in the world today whose vocal range extends that beyond the ordinary countertenor range. He hails from Berlin where he is a much sought after opera and stage soloist. The renowned German opera magazine Opernwelt named him best young singer of the year in 1999. Joerg Waschinski's rare vocal range and exceptional musical insight allows him to perform much of the repertoire originally written for the legendary castrati such as Farinelli and Senesino – repertoire that many of the top sopranos would rarely tackle. Click here to download an MP3 of Joerg Waschinski singing Porpora's Alto Giove. You will simply be AMAZED by what you hear. For fans of the film Farinelli il Castrato – this concert is a MUST.

This concert also heralds the beginning of a year long anniversary celebration of the music of Handel and Haydn. Over the coming months we will play a series of early Haydn symphonies including No. 30 "Alleluja", No. 73 "La Chasse" and No. 63 "La Roxelane". This will continue throughout the year so do join us for what will be a true classical journey!

Leanne Nicholls
Founder & Artistic Director
City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong

Close