In this programme brochure, you will find a diverse programme of music, theatre and dance, as well as an exhibition which fuses steel works of art with percussion music itself.

For music lovers, I invite you to go on a splendorous musical escapade and be ready to embrace modernity that touches your soul. Secret Garden will open the festival with Ding Fei Fei and Ding Wei - indies of the music circle. Tan Dun will return to conduct the Hong Kong Sinfonietta for his latest creation of The Map and Paper Concerto, so join him to share his experience and vision in voice, sound and great music. The modern chamber opera Opiume is a joint presentation with the Singapore Arts Festival: the chemistry of the artists from Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong will move you with poignant melodies. With Wu Tong, Todd Reynolds, David Cossin and Evan Ziporyn, it would be a novel music experience that fuses folk, jazz and rock. And from Japan, Yamato's young drummers will rock you with rhythm and the new energies they have added to the traditional Wadaiko culture.

On the theatre and dance front, Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne E.T.E. will demonstrate the code of excellence in European physical theatre, while Taiwan's U Theatre will take you on a sojourn of Buddhist tranquility with their soulful performance that blends martial art, drumming, dance and chanting. On a completely different note, Japan's Sal Vanilla will combine dynamic mass dance with cutting-edge effects of digital technologies to create a milieu of surrealism in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Studio Theatre.

Equal limelight is on our local talents, who will showcase their latest artistic discovery on the festival platform. Warren Mok, tenor of international fame, will make a special guest appearance at the opening concerts; award-winning dancer Mui Cheuk-yin will join hands with Priscilla Leung in a multi-media performance that fuses voice with dance, video and poetry; percussionist Margie Tong will be premiering her commissioned work that crosses percussion music with sculpture; and Yeung Wai-mei will challenge the realms of dance theatre at the new black box of Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre. And with "new vision" as our theme, we can look forward to more flights of imagination and inventive artistic expressions from the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Edward Lam Dance Theatre and Theatre du Pif.

Excitement is already in the air as we cannot wait for the Festival to start. We have commissioned the Chinese Music Virtuosi from Hong Kong to be the forerunner. They will be touring the schools to treat our young audiences with a specially designed repertoire that fuses Chinese music with Western music and digital effects as early as September.

As said, the New Vision Arts Festival is about new choices in the arts.

It is a matter of choice - your choice. Come and join us.

Elaine Yeung
Senior Manager, Festivals Office
Leisure and Cultural Services Department