The Hong Kong Festival Orchestra (HKFO) is one of the biggest

youth orchestra A youth orchestra is an orchestra made of young musicians, typically ranging from pre-teens or teenagers to those of conservatory age. Depending on the age range and selectiveness, they may serve different purposes. Orchestras for young stude ...

and choir organisations in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

History

Founded in 2009 by Sean Li, HKFO is now one of the largest youth orchestra groups in Hong Kong with over 300 instrumentalists and choristers and five conductors of different backgrounds and experiences. HKFO was initially established in response to the boom of musical education in Hong Kong that began in the 1980s. With the staggering increase of Hong-Kong-born young musical professionals and semi-professionals educated locally and internationally returning to their home city of Hong Kong by the 2000s, the orchestra was set up as a platform where young musical professionals can build their careers, reconnect with their common past, share and learn from one another in a friendly and rewarding atmosphere.

Membership

While HKFO does not have an official age restriction, the average age of its members range from 13 to 30 years of age, chosen through highly competitive annual auditions held locally and online. Prospective members may apply for membership as an instrumentalist, chorister or intern.

Organisation's vision

HKFO positions itself differently from conventional orchestras in the region in that the orchestra focuses heavily on conversion of non-classical-music-listeners to classical-music-listeners. Apart from giving conventional performances, the orchestra also engages in audience-interacting activities and cross-media performances, ranging from drama, comedy, popular music and other art forms. In 2013, HKFO hosted the largest choral-orchestral flash mob in Hong Kong. The orchestra regularly collaborates with internationally and locally renowned artists, including in the past, conductor

Vassily Sinaisky Vassily Serafimovich Sinaisky ( Russian: Васи́лий Серафи́мович Сина́йский, born in Abez, Komi Republic, April 20, 1947) is a Russian conductor and pianist. Biography Sinaisky studied conducting with Ilya Musin at t ...

, cellists Jian Wang and Trey Lee, pianists

Yundi Li use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , alma_mater = Shenzhen Arts School Musikhochschule Hannover , years_active = 1994–present , o ...

Aristo Sham Aristo Sham () (born 12 March 1996) is a pianist born in Hong Kong. He has won numerous prizes and awards in Hong Kong and overseas, and has performed in several countries. He has been featured in the Channel 4 programme, The World's Greatest Musi ...

, Kajeng Wong, Dr. Helen Cha, Dr. Mary Wu and

Rachel Cheung Rachel Wai-Ching Cheung (; born September 27, 1991) is a classical pianist from Kowloon, Hong Kong. She has won numerous prizes and awards in Hong Kong and overseas, and performs regularly in Asia, Europe, and North America. Early life and edu ...

; violinist Leung Kin Fung; saxophonist Timothy Sun; violist Born Lau; popular singer

George Lam George Lam Tsz-Cheung (born 12 October 1947), also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor, with a career that has so far lasted more than four decades. Lam ...

,"文化快訊：貝九﹒以後." RTHK. 2013. http://app3.rthk.org.hk/cultureweb/details.php?id=834 and comedian

Jim Chim Jim Chim Sui-man (; born 6 May 1965) is a Hong Kong-based stage actor and comedian. Biography Jim Chim, Associate Artistic Director of Theatre Ensemble, co-founded the company with Olivia Yan in 1993. Since then, he has been performing and dire ...

. The orchestra mainly gives its annual performances in the summer in various venues including the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall and the

Hong Kong City Hall Hong Kong City Hall () is a building located at Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong is a " Special Administrative Region" and not a normal Chinese city, there is no mayor or city council; therefore, the ...

Concert Hall.

References

{{authority control Hong Kong orchestras Youth orchestras Youth organisations based in Hong Kong

History

Membership

Organisation's vision

See also

References