2027 Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra Annual Concert

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2027 Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra Annual Concert “Timeless Chinese Music Treasure”

The Music Office Commissioned Works	Book Now (Coming Soon)
30 January (Saturday) 7:30pm Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall	House Programme (Coming Soon)

The Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra (HKYCO) will revisit its exclusive treasury of manuscripts commissioned by the Music Office since the 1980s, and share this precious world of curated wonders with the public.

With a diverse concert programme depicting the magnificent landscapes and the lyrical classics that softly recount the passage of time, the HKYCO will lead the audience to cascade through a half-century river of music. The orchestra will present the world premiere of aspiring local composer Chan Nok-him’s freshly penned work Echoes from the Playground, a commission sponsored by the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, celebrating the brilliant spirit of modern creative forces, and breathing a fresh voice into the living heritage of Chinese culture.

The concert is also one of the activities in the Chinese Culture Promotion Series. The LCSD has all along promoted Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public learn more about broad and profound Chinese culture.

Conductors
Kwok Kin-ming
Cheung Wai-fung

Sponsored by

$130 $100 $80

Available at URBTIX from 30 December
Half-price tickets are available for full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and the minder, Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients
For age 6 or above

Enquiries
Ticketing Enquiries and Customer Service: 3166 1100
Telephone Booking: 3166 1288
Internet Booking: www.urbtix.hk
Programme Enquiries: 2796 1003/ 3842 7784

The Rite of Bumper Harvest (1983)

Kuan Nai-chung

Distant Mountains (Hong Kong Composers’ Guild sponsored commission) (2017)

I	The Distant Vista
II	The Mountain Saunter
III	The Ascent

Alfred Wong

Echoes from the Playground
(Hong Kong Composers’ Guild sponsored commission, world premiere)

Chan Nok-him

Flame-red Flowers in Full Bloom (1998)

Xu Jingxin

Conductor:

Cheung Wai-fung

~ Intermission ~

Soar (1983)

Law Wai-lun

Story of the Shell (1998)

Qian Zhaoxi

Spring in the Gansu Province (1999)

Liu Wenjin

Conductor:

Kwok Kin-ming

Years of the Music Office Commissions in parentheses

The performance will run for about 95 minutes including an intermission

Music Office reserves the right to change the programme and artists

The Rite of Bumper Harvest (1983)	Kuan Nai-chung
The music depicts the Amis tribe's grand ritual held every five years. Moving from deep bowed strings symbolising the priest’s solemn prayer, through the villagers' blessings, the music concludes in a jubilant collective dance praying for a bumper harvest.

Distant Mountains (Hong Kong Composers’ Guild sponsored commission) (2017)	Alfred Wong
The music channels the artistic imagery of Chinese ink landscapes. Through three chapters—"Distant Vista", "Mountain Saunter", and "The Ascent"—the orchestra leads music lovers to step into the scene of nature.

Echoes from the Playground (Hong Kong Composers’ Guild sponsored commission, world premiere)	Chan Nok-him
The music integrates Cantonese nursery rhymes into music, vividly presenting a game of hide-and-seek through interwoven plucked and bowed strings. Notes transform into children running and hiding, building to a lively countdown that welcomes the next joyful times.

Flame-red Flowers in Full Bloom (1998)	Xu Jingxin
Inspired by the poetic lines of Bai Juyi’s Memory of Jiangnan, the music fully showcases the elegance of the tuneful melodies of Jiangnan played on silk (stringed) and bamboo (wind) instruments, and depicts a magnificent sunrise and vibrant life over water villages.

Soar (1983)	Law Wai-lun
This brilliant piece is filled with vibrant vitality and a sense of speed. Opening with a powerful and passionate introduction, it then transits into light, leaping melodies, creating a thrilling atmosphere like a galloping herd of ten thousand horses.

Story of the Shell (1998)	Qian Zhaoxi
The music is originated from a folk legend of the southern coast of Zhejiang. The elegant Gaohu tells the story of the Shell Maiden's romance, while the harsh, muted clash of cymbals symbolises the crab's disruption; after a musical struggle between good and evil, peace and tranquillity are restored.

Spring in the Gansu Province (1999)	Liu Wenjin
The music blends the regional colors of Northwest "Hua'er" folk songs. A soulful Suona solo heralds winter's departure and the melting of ice, followed by the imagery of rushing rivers and lively rhythms that depict the joy of people singing and dancing.

Kwok Kin-ming

Kwok Kin-ming is currently Senior Music Officer of the Chinese Music Section of the Music Office and the conductor of the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra (HKYCO) and the Music Office Instructors’ Chinese Ensemble.

Kwok obtained his Master of Music degree from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in Chinese orchestra conducting, under the tutelage of renowned conductor, Professor Yan Huichang. In 2011, Kwok placed as the second runner-up at the inaugural Hong Kong International Conducting Competition for Chinese Music and was also awarded the title of “Outstanding Young Conductor”. He has also received guidance from many other distinguished conductors, including Maestros Xia Feiyun, Chen Chengxiong, Ye Cong, Zhang Guoyong, Wang Fujian, and Yip Wing-sie.

Kwok has collaborated with numerous acclaimed orchestras, including the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, the Jilin Chinese Orchestra, the Macao Chinese Orchestra, the Wuxi Chinese Orchestra, the Feiyun Chinese Orchestra, and the Chinese Orchestra of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra.

In 2016, Kwok led the HKYCO to tour in Shanghai and Shenyang, where the Orchestra jointly performed with the Chinese Orchestra of Shenyang Conservatory of Music. In 2018, under Kwok’s baton, the HKYCO and the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra jointly presented a concert titled TOGETHER in the Lion City. In 2023, he led the HKYCO to Xi’an for music exchange, and conducted an exchange concert jointly presented by the HKYCO and the Xi’an Conservatory Chinese Orchestra.

Cheung Wai-fung

Cheung Wai-fung is currently Assistant Music Officer of the Chinese Music Section of the Music Office, and conductor of the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra.

Cheung started studying erhu with Lai Siu-ming at an early age, and other huqins with Ng Kwok-kwong and Hou Shih-chieh during his secondary school years. He was later admitted to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) with a double major in erhu and banhu under the tutelage of established erhu educator Professor Wang Guotong and renowned banhu player Ngai Kwun-wa. During his studies, he also travelled to Shanghai and Beijing to study with several huqin masters.

Cheung received conducting training by Liang Di and Ho Man-chuen. Since joining the Music Office in 2005, he has participated in a number of Chinese music conducting masterclasses organised by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and Taipei Chinese Orchestra. and received guidance from several leading conductors, including Professor Yan Huichang, Professor Xia Feiyun, Professor Chen Tscheng-hsiung and Tsung Yeh. Cheung was also an erhu instructor and orchestra conductor for a number of primary and secondary schools, as well as an erhu instructor for the Junior Music Programme of HKAPA Junior Course.