The Story of the Finest Orchestra in the Pearl of the Orient
Background
The orchestra has promoted Hong Kong-based composers by
commissioning and premiering numerous works of contemporary
music, including the recent five-work cycle of Voices of
Hong Kong, by John Chen, David
Gwilt, Daniel Law, Law Ping-leung and Richard
Tsang.
In the autumn of 1995, the HKPO travelled to 9 cities in the
United States
and Canada in
its North American début. In 2003, the orchestra made its European
début with performances in London's Barbican Hall,
Belfast,
Dublin and
Paris
(Théâtre des
Champs-Élysées).
Dutch conductor
Edo de Waart
has been the orchestra's Artistic Director and Chief Conductor
since the 2004/2005 season. Past Music Directors include
internationally renowned conductors such as David
Atherton, who is now the orchestra's conductor
laureate.
Of its HK$95 million budget for the
2004/2005 season, about sixty percent came from the Hong Kong
government. The remaining forty percent came from box office
revenue, performance fees, sponsorship, advertising and
donations.
The orchestra gives more than 140 performances annually to an
audience of over 180,000 in various venues including the Concert
Hall of the Hong Kong Cultural
Centre and the City Hall Concert Hall. In addition to
classical performances, it occasionally appears backing local pop
stars such as Jacky Cheung,
Frances Yip and
Teresa
Carpio.
Conductors