7 February 2010 (Sun) 3pm

Auditorium, Tuen Mun Town Hall

Tickets: $140, $110, $80

7 March 2010 (Sun) 8pm

Theatre, Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre

Tickets: $140, $110

Hong Kong City Chinese Orchestra

Conductors: Hu Bingxu (7/2 only), Zhao Xintai

Conductor(7/3)/ Erhu Solo(7/2): Ching Sau-wing

Guzheng Solo: Yu Hong

Jinhu Solon: Rupert Woo Pak-tuen

Pipa Solo: Yu Wing-ka

Suona Solo: Wu Chun-hei

Erhu Solo: Wan Hei-man

	7.2.2010		7.3.2010
Orchestra	Themes from TV Suite		Themes from TV Suite	Joseph Koo
	Journey to Lahsa		Journey to Lahsa	Guan Dizhong
	As the Moon Rises		As the Moon Rises	Ancient Tune　Arr. Peng Xiuwen
	Stepping High		Stepping High	Lu Wencheng Arr. Peng Xiuwen
	Colourful Clouds Chasing the Moon			Ren Guang Arr. Law Wai-lun
			Wild Dance of the Golden Snakes	Folk Music Arr. Nie Er Orch. Gu Guanren
	Celebration Overture			Zhao Jiping
			Hong Kong, the City that never Sleeps	Peng Xiuwen
Guangdong Music	Autumn Moon over a Placid Lake		Autumn Moon over a Placid Lake	Lu Wencheng
Erhu solo	The Ballad of Northern Henan			Liu Wenjin
			Capriccio on Theme from Hong Lake	Arr. Min Huifen Orch. Qu Chunquan
Jinhu solo	In the Deep of the Night		In the Deep of the Night	Set Tune From Peking Opera
Pipa solo	The Silk Worm in Spring			Liu Dehai
			Ambush on All Sides	Ancient Tune
Guzheng & orchestra	Battling with the Typhoon			Wang Changyuan Arr. He Zhanhao
			Fish Hawks Dabbling in the Water	Chaozhou Zheng Tune Arr. Li Fubin
Suona & orchestra	Snow Lantern Fair			Liu Ying
			Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix	Folk Music

Hong Kong City Chinese Orchestra
Established in 1994, the Hong Kong City Chinese Orchestra has made unremitting endeavours over the decade to promote Chinese culture, to enhance the development of Chinese music in the territory, and to foster extensive exchange activities between local and overseas music circles. At the invitation of BMG in 1995, the orchestra released three albums of Chinese music, among which the erhu Showpieces by 3 Maestros recorded with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra has remained one of the best-selling albums in the Asian-Pacific region. In 1997, the orchestra staged “The Love for Our Motherland” concert in celebration of Hong Kong’s reunification with the Mainland. In 2000, a series of five concerts and 11 seminars were organized in the form of a chronicle under “A Retrospective Look at Chinese Music in the Twentieth Century”. Being the first of its kind in the realm of Chinese music, the programme attracted great interest in the music circles on the Mainland as well as overseas. The orchestra is recognized as a very promising Chinese orchestra.
Hu Bingxu (7/2only)		Guest Conductor
Being a National Class One Conductor, Hu Bingxu is one of the most outstanding conductors in contemporary Chinese music. He was formerly a deputy Director of the Assessment Committee of the Ministry, the Artistic Director, Deputy Leader and Principal Conductor of the Chinese National Orchestra. Hu was at various times the Resdent Conductor and Artistic Consultant of the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China, the China National Opera House, the National Ballet of China, the Peking Opera Troupe of Beijing, the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe and the Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe. He was appointed the Principal Conductor of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra from 1997 to 2000. Hu conducts with flair, accuracy and precision. His performance is impassioned and touching. He received the Outstanding Conductor Award form the Ministry of Culture in China and the ‘Golden Disc Conductor Special Award’ by China Records. Hu has also conducted the orchestra for scoring of more than hundred of films, TV dramas and documentaries. He has been invited to conduct on important occasions. During his tenure with the Chinese National Orchestra, he led the orchestra to Taiwan and Japan for various performances. In 1995, the orchestra made its debut in Hong Kong with two concerts. The concerts were performed under Hu’s baton and were critically acclaimed by both the music circles and the press. The China Times described Hu as ‘A conductor with star like qualities… who overpowers the stage with glamour, panache… and charisma…’ He led the orchestra on an eighteen-city tour to the United States in early 1997, which included the first performance of Spring Dream for Chinese orchestra and cello with the world-class cellist Yo-yo Ma in the Carnegie Hall, The occasion also marked the first concert ever by a Chinese orchestra and a Chinese music conductor in the hundred-year history of the Carnegie Hall.
Zhao Xintai		Conductor
Zhao Xintai graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music where he studied composition and conducting under Xia Feiyun and He Zhanhao.  He has been the Principal Conductor of many professional orchestras, including the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Television Hunan, and is currently the Music Director and Resident Conductor of Shantou Philharmonic Orchestra.  He is a member of the Chinese Musicians’ Association and the China Conductors’ Society.    Apart from conducting professional orchestras, Zhao is also dedicated to grooming and training amateur orchestral groups in China, including the Golden Phoenix Symphony Orchestra which is made up of students of middle schools at Shantau.  The orchestra has received high acclaim in China music circles under Zhao’s leading.  His work has won many prizes.    Zhao and the Shantou Philharmonic has performed with the violinist Li Chuanyun, the pianist Sun Meiting, the erhu artists Min Huifen and Ching Sau-wing and other world famous musicians.
Ching Sau-wing	Conductor (7/3 only) /Erhu Solo (7/2 only)
A renowned Erhu performer, Ching is currently an Honorary Director of the China Nationalities Orchestra Society and the Erhu Society under the Chinese Musicians’ Association, and Artistic Director of the Hong Kong City Chinese Orchestra.  He graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music where he was trained in the Erhu under Min Huifen, Xiao Baiyong and Xu Jiangde, and in composition and conducting under He Zhanhao and Xia Feiyun.  With his virtuosic techniques, emotional lyricism and impassioned delivery, Ching has won many prizes, including a Class One Award at the National Chinese Music Solo Competition.    His successful concert with the Chinese National Symphony Orchestra at the Beijing Concert Hall in 2005 won media and professional acclaim in China.  A live recording of the concert was featured on CCTV.    Ching has been actively devoted to promoting Chinese music in Hong Kong through training ensemble groups and serving as conductor in many concerts presented by the former Urban Council and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong.
Yu Hong		Guzheng Solo
Yu Hong graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Arts degree in guzheng.  She is a National Class One Performer, a member of the Chinese Musicians’ Association and Music Director of the Tsuen Wan Yuen Yin Chinese Orchestra of Hong Kong   Yu began learning to play the guzheng at the age of seven, and already won a Gold Award at the All China Junior Instrumental Music Competition a year later.  At 15, she was a young cultural ambassador from China on tour to the United States, and performed solo at the White House for Nancy Reagan, wife of the former President Reagan.  Yu was a winner of many prestigious awards, including an Outstanding Award at the International Competition for Chinese Solo Instrumentalists, the Gold Award of the Instrumental Music Competition which was part of the Jiangsu Music and Dance Festival – twice in running, a Class One Award for guzheng at the 3rd Chinese Instrumental Music Competition of Jiangsu, and another Gold Award at the ‘Jasmine Cup’ Chinese Instrumental Music of Jiangsu.  She has appeared in the Chinese New Year Chinese Opera Show of CCTV in 1994, the Opening Ceremony of the 6th China Arts Festival in 2000, and on a Chinese music programme of CCTV’s music channel in 2001, all performing to critical acclaim.  She has been the artistic adviser to many guzheng ensembles as well as a guzheng instructor at the Department of Music of the Nanjing Normal University.  She has given performing tours in the United States, Japan, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Taiwan.   In recent years, Yu has been active in Hong Kong and on the Mainland.  She has given two solo recitals, and participated in many concerts organized by the Tsuen Wan District Council as well as concerts in mainland China.  Yu was instrumental in the founding of the Tsuen Wan Yuen Yin Chinese Orchestra, which she has been leading since it was established in April 2002.  The Orchestra is often invited to appear in major variety shows.
Rupert Woo Pak-tuen		Jinhu Solo
Rupert Woo Pak-tuen started his huqin training first with the erhu and later other instruments in the huqin family under Lai Siu-ming and Ching Sau-wing. He holds two first degrees from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and is now studying for a Master’s degree in Music at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts on a scholarship, double majoring in banhu and gaohu under the tutelage of Ngai Kwun-wa and Yu Qiwei.  He also received banhu training from Shen Cheng and Liu Xiang; erhu training from Min Huifen, Zhang Zunlian, Cao Dewei and Zhou Yaokun.  While studying at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Woo was awarded the Society of HKAPA Scholarship, the Hang Seng Bank Limited Scholarship etc. In 2007, he won in the Academy’s Concerto Competition, and performed the erhu concerto, Parting of the Newly Wed with the Academy Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of the British conductor, Alexander Shelley. In May 2008, Woo gave a successful graduation recital at the HKAPA Concert Hall.  Woo was the Erhu Principal of the Academy Chinese Orchestra, Concertmaster and Gaohu/Erhu Principal of the Hong Kong City Chinese Orchestra etc. While still studying at the HKAPA, he toured the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Belgium, Germany, Holland and Austria as banhu soloist of the Academy Chinese Music Ensemble, at the invitation of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.
Yu Wing-ka		Pipa Solo
Yu Wing-ka first learned the liuqin under Ko Tit-kwan when she was still in primary school. Later she turned to the pipa and was under the tutelage of Cheung Yim-yu. She was a winner in many pipa competitions in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, including a champion in Junior Class, a first runner-up in the Intermediate and Senior Classes, and twice as second runner-up in the Open Class. She entered the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2005 where she majored in pipa under Cheung Yim-yu. In 2006, she was awarded the Hongkong Bank Foundation – Hong Kong Mainland Exchange Scholarship to go to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing to receive advanced training in the pipa under Hao Yifan. She was also a recipient of the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation Scholarship for the years 2006 and 2007. Yu has performed with the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra, the Kowloon Youth Chinese Orchestra, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She was on tour with the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra to Nanjing, Wuxi and Jiangyin for music exchange in 2007.
Wu Chun-hei		Suona Solo
Wu Chun-hei began learning the suona and guanzi under the tutelage of Ko Tit-kwan and Guo Yazhi. He was a four times champion of the suona（Senior）Section of the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival when he was in secondary school. In 2005, he entered the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under the Outreach Development Scholarship, where he majored in suona and minored in erhu under Law Hang-leung, Guo Yazhi and Ching Sau-wing. In 2006, he went to Shanghai to receive training under Liu Ying on the Hongkong Bank Foundation – Hong Kong Mainland Exchange Scholarship. Wu is currently a suona performer with the Academy Chinese Orchestra of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Hong Kong City Chinese Orchestra, the Hong Kong Music Lover Chinese Orchestra and the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra, with which he has toured Beijing, Xian, Tianjin and Nanjing.
Wan Hei-man		Erhu Solo
Sixteen-year-old Wan Hei-man was born in Hong Kong. He is studying at the Diocesan Boys’ School, and has been trained in the erhu under Ching Sau-wing since he was six. He was the winner of the championship of the erhu (Advanced) and Erhu (Senior) sections in the 2004 and 2006 Hong Kong Schools Music Festival respectively. In September 2005, he performed with Ching Sau-wing and the China National Symphony Orchestra in a concert held at the Beijing Concert Hall, and performed with Ching and another erhu virtuoso, Min Huifen, in December, 2007.

Running time of each concert is about 2 hours with an intermission of 15 minutes.  Audience are strongly advised to arrive punctually. 

No latecomers will be admitted until the interval or a suitable break in the programme.

Tickets available from 15 January at all URBTIX outlets.

Half-price tickets available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (Limited tickets for CSSA recipients available on a first-come-first-served basis). Concessionary ticket holders must produce evidence of their identity or age upon admission.

Group Booking Discount

10% off for each purchase of 4 – 9 standard tickets;

15% off for each purchase of 10 – 19 standard tickets;

20% off for each purchase of 20 or more standard tickets

Programme Enquiries : 2268 7321

Ticketing Enquiries & Reservations: 2734 9009

Credit Card Telephone Booking: 2111 5999

Internet Booking: www.urbtix.hk

The presenter reserves the right to substitute artists and change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary