The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust continues its exclusive sponsorship to the HK Phil flagship music education programme
“Jockey Club Keys to Music Education Programme” with a grant of over HK$9.5 Million for another three years
20 FEB 2019
Hong Kong
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Meggy Cheng
Director of Marketing
Tel: (852) 2721 9035
Email: meggy.cheng@hkphil.org
Flora Fung
Media Relations and Communications Manager
Tel: (852) 2721 1585
Email: flora.fung@hkphil.org
[20 February 2019, Hong Kong] On 18 February (Monday), at the first afternoon concert of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra's (HK Phil) flagship music education programme “Jockey Club Keys to Music Education Programme” - Chamber Music Series at Tai Kwun, the HK Phil is honoured to welcome Mrs Angelina Cheung, Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs of the HKSAR, Ms Winnie Yip, Executive Manager, Charities (Projects), The Hong Kong Jockey Club, together with Mr Michael MacLeod, Chief Executive of the HK Phil, as the officiating guests at the opening ceremony of the programme’s 2018/19 season.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has been the exclusive sponsor of the “Jockey Club Keys to Music Education Programme” since 2012/13 season. In this celebratory 45th professional season of the HK Phil, the orchestra and The Club’s Charities Trust are happy to continue this exclusive sponsorship of this vital music education programme for another three years until 2021.
Our honourable officiating guest Mrs Angelina Cheung, Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs of the HKSAR, said, “The ‘Jockey Club Keys to Music Education Programme’ is successful in enhancing the public for appreciation of classical music. Each year, over 40,000 school children would enrich their musical and cultural knowledge and enjoy the fine music at the highest level through the free education activities of the Programme.”
At the ceremony, Ms Winnie Yip, Executive Manager, Charities (Projects), The Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, “In recent years The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has placed emphasis on four strategic areas: youth; elderly; sports; and arts, culture and heritage. We are committed to helping Hong Kong become a culturally vibrant city, enriching lives and promoting social inclusion. In addition to the ‘Jockey Club Keys to Music Education Programme’, the Club will continue to support various kinds of arts and cultural projects with a view to enhancing the lives of our young people.”
Thanks to the generous support from The Club’s Charities Trust, the “Jockey Club Keys to Music Education Programme” has brought tremendous benefits to over 200,000 local teachers and students through over 500 free events. These have included schools’ concerts, ensemble visits by the HK Phil musicians, instrumental masterclasses led by HK Phil principal players, and teachers’ seminars. With the renewal in this 2018/19 season, a new initiative is included in the programme - ensemble residency at the iconic Tai Kwun, Centre for Heritage and Arts in Hong Kong, including afternoon Chamber Music Series at the JC Cube and lunchtime performances at the Laundry Steps. This exciting new initiative allows the HK Phil to bring a new music experience to students and the community in Hong Kong with different instrumental combinations and programmes.
Mr Michael MacLeod, Chief Executive of the HK Phil, said, “We sincerely thank The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for its generous support over the past six years and we are delighted to continue our wonderful partnership which enriches the musical and cultural knowledge of school children and teachers in Hong Kong”. Mr MacLeod added; “Together with a significant subsidy from the Hong Kong Government, the HK Phil boasts a full-time annual schedule of core classical repertoire and innovative popular programming, extensive education and community programmes, and collaborations with other local arts groups. This helps inspire the community through the finest music-making, stimulating cultural participation in Hong Kong, and enhancing the reputation of Hong Kong as one of the great cultural hubs of the world.”
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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.