Once more on 4th July 2004 we held a fund raising event for a very worthy cause. 
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Programme

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 Haydn Symphony No. 88
Bruckner

:

 Symphony No.4 (Scherzo only)
Tchaikovsky

:

 Symphony No.6 ¡§Pathetique¡¨

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Amongst Guy Hugh Chan Medical Education Foundation¡¦s activities are sponsorship of mainland doctors for training of treatment of eye diseases.

A number of mainland doctors (up to 8 at a time) are invited to come to Hong Kong for 3 to 6 months training for this purpose.  They are given lessons and practical experience during this period as well as an honorarium of HK$8,000.00 per month.  At the end of their period they return to mainland and a new batch arrives.

The Haydn was a lovely piece and particularly demanding on the 1st violins.  Our players rose to the challenge magnificently.  The scherzo of Bruckners 4th gave our brass & woodwinds to show off and they enjoyed themselves.

The Tchaikovsky is such a well known piece that it might have been an anticlimax but on the night the performance was both manic and depressive !  In particular the 3rd movement (on hearing the recording) really brought out how marvelous life is only to be dragged down by the last movements extremely sad outpouring.  Somehow, this feeling was conveyed by K. K. and our players to the audience.

The quality of the recording (done by APA) is not of the standard we are used to but a CD will probably be produced.

The post concert dinner was a happy (and rowdy) end to a hard days work.

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On 30th May 2004 we had another 2 Klassics for Kids Concerts at the Hall of Quarry Bay School.     This has become a favorite among many Hong Kong parents and their young children i.e. those not old enough to be allowed into Concert Halls.    We had a lively and varied programme:
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¡@ ¡@ Old MacDonald had a Farm
J. Strauss Jr. ¡@ Radetzky March
Haydn ¡@ Symphony No.88 (last movement)
Leroy Anderson ¡@ Plink, Plank, Plunk
Tchaikovsky ¡@ Swan Lake Suite - Dance of the Swan
Mozart ¡@ Bassoon Concerto (Allegro) - Vance Lee

Encore -

 ¡@ Flight of the Bumble Bee
Bizet  ¡@ Carmen Suite - Chanson du Toreador
¡@ ¡@ The Waltzing Cat
J. Strauss Jr. ¡@ Chit-Chat Polka
Tchaikovsky ¡@ Swan Lake - Danse Napolitaine
Tchaikovsky ¡@ Nutcracker Suite - Danse des Mirlitons
¡@ ¡@ Sound of Music - Lonely Goatherd
Waltz Disney ¡@ Little Mermaid (Under the Sea)

                                        
The highlights were undoubtedly Vance Lee's encore playing the 'Flight of the Bumble Bee' on the bassoon!      It brought the house down.    The other highlight was Michelle's singing especially the Lonely Goatherd from The Sound of Music.     The rest of the orchestra also joined in the spirit of the concert for a wonderful afternoon.

The hard work put in by Michelle, David and the staff of My MusikBox have raised almost $40,000.00 for our organization.    We would like to thank them once again.
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On 18th April 2004, we held our concert to raise funds for our own organization (so that we can continue to help other charitable organizations) at the Concert Hall  A.P.A.      It was a full house!     The programme was:

                    Berlioz      Carnaval Romain
                    Berlioz      Les Nuits d'ete'
                    Mahler      Symphony No.4

Our star soprano, Katusha Tsui-Fraser, sang beautifully in both works (Les Nuit and Mahler 4).   She was a delight to work with and of course captivated the packed hall throughout.     We would like, once again, to thank her for her skill and generosity.    We would also wish to thank all members (regular and not so regular) for their time and hard work throughout the rehearsals and performance.

Our concertmaster, Y. S. Liu, played the solos in the 2nd movement of Mahler's 4th with great dexterity on 2 violins, though of course, not at the same time!!     K.K. once again was in great form.    We were fortunate to have generous donors and we raised almost $80,000.00.
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Following the successful first Classics for Kids in June 2003, a Christmas Classics for Kids was jointly presented with My Musikbox on 20th December 2003 at Quarry Bay School.

The response was so huge that we had to put on a second performance in the same afternoon.    In this concert, it has already become a tradition for orchestral members to "let their hair down", or in case of certain members put extra hair on !   The audience of very young children enjoyed themselves and responded enthusiastically to the questions and games from our Master of Ceremony Michelle Liu (of My Musikbox).    It is safe to say that everyone had a great time.    All funds raised went to the Hongkong Institute of Education, Department of Creative Arts, Music Scholarship.

           The program:

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Bizet

:

 Carmen (excerpt)
Blue Tango
Mozart : Serenade in G (1st movement)
Brahms : Hungarian Dance No.6
J. Strauss Jr : Polka
J. Strauss Jr : Thunder and Lightning
Introduction of instruments
Christmas Carols : Sleigh Ride
Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer
and etc..........
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Two "Light up a Life" concerts for The Society for the Promotion of Hospice Care were performed at:

    1. St. John's Cathedral on 9th December 2003.    Our very own Alice Cheng played Mozart's Rondo in C for violin and orchestra K373.    This charming music was beautifully performed by our soloist and was very well received.    We then played Bach's Orchestral Suite No.3 in D, BWV1068.   This is a rousing piece and the Brass and Tympani gave the concert a wonderfully festive mood.    We had been informed that $230,000 was raised.

    2. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on 19th December 2003.   We played Mozart's Divertimento K136 which was also very well received.    This is the first time we've been asked to play at the Chinese carol service of the Hospice Care and our new chairman, Y. S. Liu, introduced our Ensemble.
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On 12th October 2003 The Ensemble gave a performance of Mahler's Symphony No.2, "Resurrection", at the Concert Hall, City Hall, H.K.    The Ensemble was enlarged to 105 players (with 10 top professional musicians who donated their time and skill).    Together with soprano Katusha Tsui-Fraser and mezzo Cynthia Luff, K. K. Chiu conducted a memorable performance.    The capacity audience showed their appreciation with prolonged applause.    This was to help raise funds for Youth Outreach.
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On 8th September 2003 the SAR Ensemble, at the invitation of the H.K. Anti-Cancer Society, performed in the second half of a concert to help raise funds.   This was at the H.K. City Hall Theatre and the programme was:


     Hungarian Dance No.5 - Johannes Brahms
     Auf Flugeln des Gesanges - Felix Mendelssohn
     Solveig's Song - Edvard Grieg
     Vienna Blood - Johann Strauss Jr
     Im Chambre Separee - Richard Heuberger
     Vilja-Lied - Franz Lehar
     The Blue Danube - Johann Strauss Jr

The soprano soloist was renowned F. F. Poon who also sang mio Babbino Caro as an encore.
Although we only had 2 rehearsals (we were in the middle of our Mahler rehearsals!), the performance was well received and our members enjoyed playing "lighter" music.   Just over $200,000 was raised.

(click on the right side image to enlarge the poster)

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