A Musical Encounter with the HK Phil – Fundraising Concert 2019 
Hong Kong’s business & social elites joint hands in supporting the HK Phil

[10 May 2019, Hong Kong]Following the continuous success of our past fundraising concerts, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) organised the annual Fundraising Concert at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall on 30 March 2019 (Saturday). The concert raised over HK$2,000,000 to support the HK Phil’s extensive education and outreach programmes, nurturing the young generation with world class orchestral music.

This year the theme of the Fundraising Concert is “A Musical Encounter with the HK Phil”. Under the leadership of conductor Gerard Salonga, music lovers performed alongside the HK Phil and showcased their passion towards music.

The stellar roster of the Fundraising Concert include (in alphabetical order of surname or name): Mr Sam Au-yeung, Ms Charis Chan, Mr William Chan, Ms Lora Chow, Face Productions, Friends In Memory of Florence Hui, Ms Jade Han, Hong Kong Harp Chamber Music, Hong Kong Music Development Association, Ms Clara Li, Ms Vivian Liao, Mr Y. S. Liu, Mr Michael MacLeod, M.int Academy – PerforMINTS, Mr Malcolm Mok, Rightmind International Nursery & Kindergarten, Shining FinStars, Mr Chris Tang, Ms Charmaine Wong and Mr Michael Yin.

KoShing 11 Serviced Apartment is the title sponsor of “A Musical Encounter with the HK Phil – Fundraising Concert 2019”.

The HK Phil would like to give its heartfelt thanks to the Fundraising Concert Organising Committee 2019:

Chair of Fundraising Committee
Mr Edward Ng

Advisor of Fundraising Committee
Mrs Janice Choi, MH, JP

Co-chairs of Fundraising Concert Organising Committee 2019
Ms Ming Lie, Barrister-at-law
Ms Alice Wang
Ms Philippa Wong

Members of Fundraising Concert Organising Committee 2019
Ms Lora Chow
Ms Connie Leung
Ms Shine Lin

Artist
Gerard Salonga, conductor [full biography]
Gerard Salonga is the Music Director of the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra in Manila, and for two seasons served as Assistant Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Since January 2019 he has begun his term as Resident Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. He has conducted the HK Phil, Philippine Philharmonic, Shanghai Opera House Orchestra and Chorus, Evergreen Symphony, Bangkok Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Orchestra Victoria and Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

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Gerard Salonga

Programme

Concert Highlights
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Ms Ming Lie, Barrister-at-law (right) and Ms Philippa Wong (left), co-chairs of Fundraising Concert Organising Committee 2019, gave a welcoming speech.


Mrs Vennie Ho (left), Senior Director of Administration and Finance of the HK Phil, presented a souvenir to Mr Leonard Chan (right), representative of title sponsor KoShing 11 Serviced Apartment.


Conductor Gerard Salonga with all performers at the curtain call.

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Music Director: Jaap van Zweden
Principal Guest Conductor: Yu Long

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is recognised as Asia’s foremost classical orchestra. Presenting more than 150 concerts over a 44-week season, the HK Phil attracts more than 200,000 music lovers annually.

Jaap van Zweden, one of today’s most sought-after conductors, has been the orchestra’s Music Director since the 2012/13 concert season, a position he will continue to hold until at least 2022. Maestro van Zweden is the 26th Music Director of the New York Philharmonic from the 2018/19 season.

Yu Long has been Principal Guest Conductor since the 2015/16 season.

Under the dynamic leadership of Music Director Jaap van Zweden, the HK Phil has attained new heights of artistic excellence, garnering international critical acclaim.

Following on from the success of the European tour which included a filmed concert from Vienna’s Musikverein, the HK Phil has toured extensively within the mainland China. In 2017, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR, and with support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices, the orchestra performed in Seoul, Osaka, Singapore, Melbourne and at the Sydney Opera House.

Jaap, the HK Phil, a superb cast of soloists and a chorus successfully completed an epic four-year journey through Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” in January 2018. The concert performances and live Naxos recordings have been enthusiastically received by audiences and praised by critics at home and abroad. The recording of Götterdämmerung was released in November 2018.

Conductors and soloists who have recently performed with the orchestra include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Joshua Bell, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Matthias Goerne, Stephen Hough, Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Ning Feng and Yuja Wang.

The HK Phil promotes the work of Hong Kong and Chinese composers through an active commissioning programme, and has released recordings on the Naxos label featuring Tan Dun and Bright Sheng, each conducting their own compositions. Its acclaimed education and community engagement programmes in schools, hospital and outdoor space, bring music into the hearts of tens of thousands of children and families every year.

The Swire Group has been the Principal Patron of the HK Phil since 2006. Through this sponsorship, which is the largest in the orchestra’s history, Swire endeavours to promote artistic excellence, foster access to classical music and stimulate cultural participation in Hong Kong, and to enhance Hong Kong’s reputation as one of the great cities in the world.

Thanks to a significant subsidy from the Hong Kong Government and long-term funding from Principal Patron Swire, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and other supporters, the HK Phil now boasts a full-time annual schedule of core classical repertoire and innovative popular programming, extensive education and community programmes, and collaborations with, among others, Opera Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Hong Kong Ballet.

Originally called the Sino-British Orchestra, it was renamed the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 1957 and became fully professional in 1974. The HK Phil is a charitable organisation.


The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and is Venue Partner of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
SWIRE is the Principal Patron of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.