(Please register to receive the 45th Season Brochure of HKCO: http://forms.gle/Wb7BmXDogruvTzfG8)

The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra has been spending 45 fruitful and rewarding years of music with the people of Hong Kong.  This milestone is all the more significant as it coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. We have grown with Hong Kong during this time, and despite adversities and challenges, we have remained committed to offering excellence in Chinese music.

The design theme adopted for the brochure of the new orchestral season is the “24 Solar Terms”. They signify the changes of the seasons, when winter gives way to spring, and the summer solstice is soon followed by the autumnal equinox. There is a natural order since time immemorial. The one mutable consideration in this perpetual cycle is humankind. Once the elements become transferred epithets, injected with human emotions and individual perceptions, the spring flowers, autumn moon, morning dew, evening snow, flowing water, and rolling clouds all carry indescribable implications and sensibilities. Most Chinese musical works are impressionistic, with particular emphases on mood and atmosphere. The concerts of our coming orchestral season contain modern ensemble pieces of great artistic conception, created from the combination of traditional Chinese wisdom and contemporary musicianship. This season opens on the day of the autumn equinox, when the day and night are of equal length and the weather is neither warm nor cold. It conveys a wish for all life forms to harmoniously and equitably co-exist in balance. We apply the elements from the music videos created earlier on, about the Chinese festivals and 24 solar terms, to the different media technologies in order to bring to the audience a whole new audio-visual enjoyment of Chinese music.

As we go forward, we appreciate the recognition bestowed on the HKCO from all sectors, in areas of corporate governance, ensemble scale, performance techniques and instrument reforms. Our programming is rich and varied: in the concert series One Hundred Chinese Music Classics Select, we have picked some of the most outstanding pieces from our repertoire of the past 45 years and give an all-out, ‘best of the best’ performance. Another of our long-running, signature programme, The Hong Kong Drum Festival, which integrates performance, education and community participation, continues to make drum music an inspiration to the people of Hong Kong to rally round with drive and spirit. Other highlights include Trail of the Blue Dragon, a project the China National Arts Fund has selected to fund; the Hong Kong Arts Festival programme – The Stage Door on Mars, a melodic fantasy that combines music and technology; Timeless Melodies, a programme showcasing artistic and orchestral heritage; and the family fun concert Sounds that Taste Delicious – Cook up Fun. The eclectic range is designed to suit all tastes.

Furthermore, to prepare for future changes in audience participation and art mode, the HKCO has been integrating technology into its programme production. In May 2022, HKCO successfully held the 2nd International Symposium for Chinese Music Conducting online. Conducted in this format, the forum facilitated real-time discussion and sharing among speakers and participants from different parts of the world, providing future Chinese music conductors with a novel developmental launchpad. In addition, the HKCO Net Concert Hall is well-supported by tens of thousands of fans across the globe. Making full use of the borderless and time-independent advantages, HKCO presents pieces from the 100 Chinese Music Classics, online concerts, special Chinese music editions grouped under various themes, educational videos, 5G concert podcasts, and so on, to virtual audiences. Thus, devoted music lovers are able to transcend the limitations of imagination and living space and enjoy Chinese music even from home. 

The cultural essence of the “24 Solar Terms” is adaptability and resourcefulness. In its 45-year journey, HKCO has been able to meet the changing conditions of Hong Kong, thereby innovate and develop in a timely, systematic manner. From its establishment in 1977, to corporatisation in 2001, and now onto the world stage reaching far and wide via the Internet, we have made tremendous achievements thanks to the support of the Government of the HKSAR and concerted efforts of our successive teams of artistic and administrative personnel.  Last but by no means least, we want to thank our fans and audiences for their long-term support. It is only with your steadfast patronage can the HKCO continue to stride towards a glorious future.

Yan Huichang, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for Life