The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra: Swire Classic Insights Sponsored by the MTR Corporation -
Three Special Free Admission Programmes at HKU - about Music, Science and Technology

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[17 March 2015, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) proudly presents three special free admission programmes – Science of Music on 21 March (Sat), and Music and Technology on 27 & 28 March (Fri & Sat), at The University of Hong Kong. Join conductor Jung-Ho Pak and special guest Professor Anthony De Ritis to see how music is closely related to science and technology.

Science of Music
Have you ever wondered how music works? Why a flute sounds so different from a violin? What a soundwave is? Conductor Jung-Ho Pak and special guest join forces to explore the building-blocks of sound – a beginner’s guide to the science of music. The HK Phil will be on stage to illustrate each point with some great music.
 

Science of Music will be held on 21 March 2015 (Sat), 8PM, in the Grand Hall, Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong. Seats are limited and available on a first-come first-served basis. A confirmation email will be sent to those who have successfully registered for the event. (http://bit.ly/19bdLVT)

Music and Technology (27 & 28 March, Friday & Saturday, 8pm)

Can a computer compose music? Can a cat on YouTube be an orchestral soloist? The answer to both questions is yes! Jung-Ho Pak and special guest Professor Anthony De Ritis explore how modern technology is influencing orchestral music. Join us for a fascinating look at the new directions orchestras are exploring in the 21st Century.
 

Music and Technology will be held on 27 & 28 March 2015 (Fri & Sat), 8PM, in the Grand Hall, Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong. Seats are limited and available on a first-come first-served basis. A confirmation email will be sent to those who successfully registered for the event. (http://bit.ly/19dPmix)
 

Sponsored by MTR Corporation	With support from

Artists
Jung-Ho Pak, conductor [full biography]
Described by the Los Angeles Times as “a real grabber,” Jung-Ho Pak, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, firmly believes the orchestra doesn’t exist simply to play notes, but to “grab souls”. This desire to create a “passionate synergy” with the orchestra has earned him a reputation as a revolutionary thinker in the world of classical music. He served as the principal conductor of the Emmy-nominated Disney Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra for eight years. As a guest conductor, he has travelled to Europe, the former Soviet Union, South America and Asia.

Prof. Anthony Paul De Ritis, special guest [full biography]
Described as a “genuinely American composer” by Gramophone, Anthony Paul De Ritis is Professor and Chair of the Music Department and jointly appointed in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group within the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University in Boston. His music has been called “groundbreaking”, “ultra-exotic,” and “really cool,” and has been performed around the world.

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Jung-Ho Pak	Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Photo Credit: Cheung Chi Wai

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Music Director: Jaap van Zweden

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is regarded as one of the leading orchestras in Asia. With a history stretching back to 1895, when it was formed as the Sino-British Orchestra, the HK Phil was re-named in 1957 and became fully professional in 1974. In February 2015, it embarks on a major tour to Europe, with concerts in London, Vienna (Musikverein), Zurich, Eindhoven, Birmingham, Berlin and Amsterdam.

Thanks to 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.

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, Yuja Wang and Edo de Waart, the HK Phil’s previous Music Director.

The HK Phil promotes the work of 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 ten of thousands of children annually. A recording will soon be issued free to schoolchildren throughout Hong Kong of Britten’s A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony.

In 2013/14 season, the orchestra made critically-acclaimed tour performances in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Taipei. Future plans include tours to the USA, Japan and Korea.

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.

This season is Jaap van Zweden’s third as Music Director of the HK Phil. With him, the orchestra is undertaking major expansion and new projects, including the first-ever performances by a Hong Kong or mainland Chinese orchestra of Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung. The four operas are being performed, one a year, in concert and recorded live for the Naxos label.

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

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