THE ARTS
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Through the favourable comments of these visiting musicians Hong Kong has established the reputation of having two of the finest auditoria in the Far East for both full orchestral performances and intimate chamber music. The immediate result was an increase in the number of concerts by visiting musicians, which totalled more than twice as many as in 1961. Most concerts were well attended and warmly appreciated and they appear to have stimulated a deeper interest in music among the people of Hong Kong, as indicated by the growing number of concerts by local artists and the excellent and increasing attendance at most of them. Local musicians who gave solo recitals at the City Hall during the year included Chiu Yee-ha (piano), Renee Fung, Chiu Put- wai and Chan Chung-on (violin), and Irene Liao (soprano). A series of band concerts given at lunch-times and on the afternoons of public holidays also proved very popular.
A major part of the Fourteenth Annual Schools Music Festival, including the prize-winners' concerts, was presented at the City Hall to capacity audiences. Other local bodies which gave concerts at the City Hall included the Hong Kong Philharmonic Society, the Roman Catholic Cathedral Choir, the Hong Kong Oratorio Society and the Combined Christian Choir. The latter's perform- ances of Handel's Messiah with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by Sir Thomas Armstrong, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music.
Several ballet groups visited Hong Kong during the year and gave performances at the City Hall. They included the Royal Ballet with Margot Fonteyn, the Bavarian National Costume Ballet, the Berliner Ballet, Luisillo and His Spanish Dance Theatre and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. The year also gave popular music lovers the opportunity to enjoy the singing and playing of Frank Sinatra, Bobbie Vee, the Trio Los Panchos and Tito Puente, all of whom performed to most appreciative audiences.
In the field of drama both the City Hall theatre and the concert hall were frequently used by amateur dramatic societies. Those which gave public performances included the Hong Kong Stage Club (The Love of Four Colonels, The Rape of the Belt and Epitaph for George Dillon), the Garrison Players (Caesar and Cleopatra and Six Characters in Search of an Author), the