Hong Kong Youth Symphonic Band Sydney Tour
in participation of Australian International Music Festival
4-12 July
The Hong Kong Youth Symphonic Band (HKYSB) of the Music Office will embark on a music journey to Sydney, Australia in July. Led by the Senior Music Officer of the Wind Music Section Mr Lee Sing-wan and three accompanying staff, 48 band members will participate in the Australian International Music Festival 2025, mingle with young musicians from around the world and foster cultural exchange though the joy of music making.
The HKYSB will perform in formal and promenade concerts, contest in the music instrumental category, as well as participate in musical exchange with local band and music refinement workshop hosted by faculty member of the Festival at the iconic Australia landmark Sydney Opera House, the distinguished University of New South Wales, dynamic and versatile the Concourse in Chatswood, the thriving Darling Harbour and the prestigious Sydney Conservatorium of Music, sharing a joyful and diversified band repertoire with the local audiences.
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Established in October 1977 by the Government, the Music Office promotes knowledge and appreciation of music in the community, especially among young people, through the provision of instrumental and ensemble training and the organisation of various music activities with a view to building a new generation of concert audiences. It has come under the management of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region since January 2000.
The Music Office runs three major training programmes: Instrumental Music Training Scheme, Ensemble Training, and Outreach Music Interest Courses. In addition, it organises the Hong Kong Youth Music Camp, the Hong Kong Youth Music Interflows and a variety of music promotional activities with target groups range from primary and secondary school students to members of the public from all walks of life.
In addition to the above activities, the Music Office organises music exchange concerts and community performances for visiting youth music groups from around the world, and sends its advanced level orchestras, bands, or choirs on concert tours abroad to foster youth music exchange and to widen the horizons of local young musicians. Since 1978, young musicians trained by the Music Office have toured Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Australia, the USA, Canada, Italy, France, the UK, Israel, Austria, Czech, Russia, and cities in the Mainland. In recent years, youth music groups from Japan, the USA, the UK, Germany, Canada, Singapore, and the Mainland have visited Hong Kong and participated in the cultural exchange programmes organized by the Music Office.
One of the performing groups managed by the Music Office, the Hong Kong Youth Symphonic Band (HKYSB) was established in 1978. The HKYSB has been successfully nurturing generations of young eminent musicians, and proactively introducing band music to the public in Hong Kong.
In 1978, the HKYSB debuted with the County of Avon School Orchestra, which was visiting from the UK. Since then, the Band has enjoyed the privilege of performing with a number of visiting music groups, including the Central Band of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force, the Tanunda Band of Australia, the Regimental Band of the Green Jackets, the Scots Guards of the United Kingdom, the Narashino Girls’ High School Band from Japan, the Baden-Württernberg Youth Wind Ensemble. Distinguished conductors who collaborated with the Band include Bruce Pearson, Dr Vondis Miller and Robert Lutt from the USA, Eric Banks from the UK, Felix Hauswirth from Switzerland, Russell Hammond from Australia and Li Fang-fang from Beijing.
The HKYSB conducted several overseas tours to regions like Kagoshima in Japan, Australia, and Hawaii in the USA. In 2013, the Band visited Jeju in South Korea again to participate in the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival, and gave exchange performances with local bands and choirs. In 2015, the Band took part in the 24th Chiayi City International Band Festival and received high acclaim. In 2018, the HKYSB visited Hamamatsu in Japan for the 20thAsia and Pacific Band Directors’ Association Band Festival Band Festival, and exchanged with the band of Saitama Kenritsu Shiraoka High School in Tokyo. The HKYSB will embark on a Sydney concert tour to join the “2025 Australian International Music Festival” in July.
The Band is currently trained and managed by Lee Sing-wan, Kevin Ling and Leung Wing-kin. Recruitment is held annually through open audition.
| [Tour Highlights] | |
| - Performance at the 2025 Australian International Music Festival Opening Concert | |
| - Performance at the Darling Harbour | |
| - Workshop at the Concourse in Chatswood | |
| - Performance at the Sydney Opera House | |
| - Music exchange with local high school band at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music | |
| - Adjudicated performance at the Concourse in Chatswood | |
| - Festival Closing Concert in the Sydney Town Hall | |
| [Tour Repertoire] | |
| Appalachian Overture | James Barnes |
| Goddess of Fire | Steven Reineke |
| Matilda Goes Walkabout | Philip Buttall |
| Fly Me to the Moon | Bart Howard/ arr. Takashi Hoshide |
| Laughter in the Vast Sea | James Wong/ arr. Park Soo-hyun |
| Akira Toriyama Sakuhin Medley | arr. Gohma Mikio |
| A Disney March Spectacular | arr. Ted Ricketts |
| Pegasus Fantasy | Hiroaki Matsuzawa & Yamada Nobuo/ arr. Kunitoshi Yamashita |
| March on Eight Folk Tunes (It happened one day in May) | Yasuhide Ito |
| Foster Rhapsody | Eiji Suzuki |
| Galop Festivo | Randall Standridge |
| The Nine | Randall Standridge |
| Machu Picchu : City in the Sky | Satoshi Yagisawa |
| Sea Goddess～Myth for Winds and Percussion | Hiroaki Kataoka |
| Tour Director/ Conductor | Lee Sing-wan Senior Music Officer (Wind) |
| Tour Manager | Landes Cheung Assistant Music Officer I (Activities & Promotion) |
| Conductor/ Band Manager | Kevin Ling Music Officer (Wind) |
| Conductor/ Instructor | Leung Wing-kin Assistant Music Officer II (Wind) |
Hong Kong Youth Symphonic Band won Gold Award at the Australian International Music Festival 2025
Led by the Senior Music Officer of the Wind Music Section Mr Lee Sing-wan and three accompanying staff, 48 band members of the Hong Kong Youth Symphonic Band (HKYSB) of the Music Office participated in the Australian International Music Festival 2025 held at Sydney during 4-12 July. The Band received the Gold Award in the Instrumental Section and was selected as Adjudicator’s Choice to perform at the Festival Command Concert on 11 July held at the Sydney Town Hall.
The HKYSB had a total of four formal and promenade concerts, one adjudicated performance, participated in musical exchange with a local band and attended a music refinement workshop hosted by faculty member of the Festival Mr Brad Lucas, performing in major performance venues of the Sydney, sharing a joyful and diversified band repertoire with the local audiences and brought smiles on their faces.