HK Phil launches Siegfried Creative Art Competition and “Become a Music Painter” Workshop
Inspiring the community to use visual art as a lens for exploring Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle

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[31 August 2016, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) has launched the Siegfried Creative Art Competition as part of the outreach programmes of its spectacular 4-year musical project to perform Richard Wagner’s epic The Ring Cycle, conducted by Music Director Jaap van Zweden. Open to ages 6 and above, the Competition aims to inspire the community to “see” the scenes and colours as they listen to Wagner’s operatic masterpieces. Winners will be recognised through the award of book coupons worth up to HK$1,000 and certificates. The winning artwork will be featured at a special exhibition and in a dedicated booklet presented by the HK Phil.

Over the previous two years, the HK Phil organised a number of interactive activities to bring the story and excitement of The Ring Cycle project to the community, with an overwhelming response. This year, while the orchestra is in preparation for the Siegfried opera-in-concert – the third chapter of The Ring Cycle – to be performed on 19 and 22 January 2017, the HK Phil is taking its efforts to the next level.

Siegfried Creative Art Competition
The Creative Art Competition offers an unprecedented opportunity for all ages 6 and above to present their unique vision of the story of Siegfried in the form of visual artwork. The Competition also features a Colouring Contest for children aged 6-12 to show off their art skills and creativity. The 23 winners from the junior, senior and adult categories will be awarded book coupons worth up to HK$1,000 and certificates by the HK Phil, as well as having their artwork displayed at the Siegfried exhibition at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and featured in a dedicated booklet in January 2017. First Place winners will also receive free tickets for a Siegfried opera-in-concert performance.

“Wagner’s Ring Cycle is at the pinnacle of our art form. Bringing it for the first time to the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and working together with the orchestra on this great music, is a central pillar of my tenure as Music Director,’ remarks Jaap van Zweden. “It is important that we engage the public with the rich history of Wagner’s Ring Cycle which presented a new style of opera that totally changed the world of classical music.”  

Michael MacLeod, Chief Executive of the HK Phil, says, “Music and visual art can provoke wonderful emotional responses. The Siegfried Creative Art Competition aims to engage the community to use visual art as a lens for exploring the emotions in Wagner’s music.”

Siegfried is the story of a young man who is destined to be a great hero. Featuring breathtaking scenes of love, betrayal and redemption, it provides plentiful sources of inspiration for visual artwork.

The Creative Art Competition is now open for entries until 11 November 2016. Winners will be announced in end November 2016.

Siegfried “Become a Music Painter” Workshop
To further engage the community with Wagner’s musical world, the HK Phil is pleased to present the Siegfried “Become a Music Painter” Workshop to be held on 24 September 2016 (Saturday). Through interesting presentation, music appreciation and interactive activities, participants will be introduced to the music of Wagner’s Ring Cycle and Siegfried, and become a “Music Painter” to create their own artwork about the story. Admission is free. Registration is now open until 14 September 2016. More details are as follows:
 

For more details, visit the HK Phil’s website:
Siegfried Creative Art Competition – www.hkphil.org/Siegfriedartcompetition
Siegfried “Become a Music Painter” Workshop – www.hkphil.org/Siegfriedworkshop

The HK Phil will announce the details of more outreach activities to introduce the public to Wagner’s Siegfried in the coming months. The activities include Seminars, Open Rehearsal and Masterclasses.

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. The Orchestra presents more than 150 concerts over a 44-week season and attracts more than 200,000 music lovers annually.

Jaap van Zweden, one of today’s most sought-after conductors, is the Orchestra’s Music Director, a position he has held since the 2012/13 concert season. Maestro van Zweden was recently announced as the next Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. This appointment will not affect his tenure with the HK Phil; his commitment to the HK Phil extends to 2022.

Yu Long was appointed for an initial three-year term in the 2015/16 season as Principal Guest Conductor.

Under Maestro van Zweden, the HK Phil is undertaking a variety of initiatives including a four-year project to perform and record the complete Ring of the Nibelung (Richard Wagner). The Orchestra is in the second of this four-year journey, performing one opera annually in concert. The performances are being recorded live for the Naxos label and mark the first performances by a Hong Kong or mainland Chinese orchestra of the entire Ring cycle.

Also under van Zweden, the orchestra undertook a highly successful five-country, seven-city tour of Europe in the 2014/15 season, with concerts in London, Vienna, Zurich, Eindhoven, Birmingham, Berlin and Amsterdam. Performances were met with enthusiasm and universally positive reviews. The concert in Vienna’s Musikverein was filmed for broadcast on TV.

Conductors and soloists who have recently performed with the orchestra include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Ning Feng, Matthias Goerne, Lang Lang, Yu Long, Yundi Li, the late Lorin Maazel, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Yuja Wang.

The HK Phil promotes the work of Hong Kong and Chinese composers through an active commissioning programme, and has released recordings featuring Tan Dun and Bright Sheng, each conducting their own compositions, on the Naxos label. Its acclaimed community engagement programme brings music to tens of thousands of children annually. A recording was issued free to schoolchildren throughout Hong Kong of Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Leopold Mozart’s Toy Symphony.

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 also 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 of 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 and other supporters, the HK Phil now boasts a full-time annual schedule of classical music concerts, pops concerts, an extensive education programme, and collaborations for staged opera with Opera Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

The Orchestra became fully professional in 1974 and celebrated its 40th professional season in 2013/14.

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