The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra announces Fung Lam as Director of Artistic Planning

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[2February 2017, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) announces Fung Lam as the Director of Artistic Planning with immediate effect, replacing Mr Raff Wilson, who has served the HK Phil for six years and has moved on as the Director of Artistic Planning at the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Fung Lam began his administrative career more than a decade ago at the Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers in London, before his composing career took over.  He has to date written over ten orchestral works, including three commissions for BBC Radio 3 (one of which was premièred at the BBC Proms) and two commissions for the HK Phil. He was the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Composer-in-Residence with the HK Phil for the 2013/14 season. In recent years, he has also been involved in producing and curating multi-disciplinary concerts. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in composition from the University of Sussex in UK.

“Having worked with the HK Phil multiple times over the years as a composer, I am delighted to be joining the orchestra of my hometown in this new capacity. I have had the pleasure of working with Maestro Jaap van Zweden, and I feel honoured to have the opportunity to collaborate with him in shaping our future artistic and education programs. I look forward to sharing my passion for exciting and innovative programming with the orchestra and our audience.” Said Fung Lam.

“It is the HK Phil’s pleasure to have Fung Lam, a Hong Kong-born musician to take up this challenging position. We look forward to working closely with Fung in bringing new thoughts and great programmes to Hong Kong.” Said Mr Michael MacLeod, Chief Executive of the HK Phil.

While welcoming Fung Lam on board, Mr MacLeod also thanked Raff Wilson for his dedication to the HK Phil in the past years. “Raff has lined up many of the great artists and programmes in the past seasons and has contributed a lot not only in the dimension of artistic planning but also in educating the local new generation with musical knowledge and appreciation. We wish Raff a very bright future back in Sydney, his hometown.”


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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. 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, has been the Orchestra’s Music Director since the 2012/13 concert season, a position he will continue to hold until at least 2022. In addition, Maestro van Zweden will also be the next Music Director of the New York Philharmonic starting with the 2018/19 season.

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 third of this four-year journey, performing one opera annually in concert. The performances being recorded live for the Naxos label are winning widespread international rave reviews; and mark the first performances by a Hong Kong or mainland Chinese orchestra of the entire Ring cycle.

Also under van Zweden, the orchestra has undertaken tours to Taiwan, Europe and Mainland China. The orchestra will undertake an ambitious five-city tour to Seoul, Osaka, Singapore, Melbourne and Sydney in April - May 2017 in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR.

Conductors and soloists who have recently performed with the orchestra include Yo-Yo Ma, 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 celebrated its 40th season as a professional orchestra 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.