RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
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Council for the Performing Arts
The government's support to the performing arts is co-ordinated by the Secretary for Recreation and Culture, who works closely with the Council for the Performing Arts. The council, which comprises fifteen appointed and two official members, is responsible for advising the government on the development of the performing arts and the disbursement of funds on performing arts activities. It has expert committees on specific aspects of the arts, including music, drama, dance, arts services and Chinese opera, and also advises on general issues such as business sponsorship.
The need to promote business sponsorship systematically remained in focus this year. To encourage more business sponsorship, the council revised its matching grant scheme under which arts groups receive a dollar for each dollar of business sponsorship they secure, up to a maximum of $100,000 for each project, and widened the scope to include all non-profit-distributing performing arts organisations. In March, the council presented its first awards for outstanding original scripts with the objective to promote original scriptwriting. Also in March, the council published its first report covering its activities within the period April 1989 to March 1991. A survey was commissioned to assess the population's attitude to the arts and to provide empirical data for planning and resource allocation for performing arts development.
On the advice of the Council for the Performing Arts, five performing arts organisations, the Chung Ying Theatre Company, the Hong Kong Ballet, the City Contemporary Dance Company, the Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Hong Kong Festival Fringe, received general support grants totalling about $28 million in 1991-2. In addition, about $2 million was awarded to the Exploration Theatre, $500,000 to the Hong Kong Sinfonietta as seeding grants and about $4 million to other local performing arts groups as grants for individual projects. Among these were the commissioning of 16 new music works by local composers for performance by local arts groups and a multi-media festival, called Festival 2000.
The Hong Kong Arts Resource and Information Centre was set up in 1990 with a grant from the Council for the Performing Arts. It provides a free arts administration consultancy referral service, maintains portfolios on local artists and arts organisations, a script collection of local playwrights and publishes Arts News, Arts Info and the Hong Kong Arts Directory.
Performing Groups
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
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The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra entered its 16th orchestral season under the leadership of its Music Director, David Atherton, Principal Guest Conductor, Kenneth Jean, and Resident Conductor, Yip Wing-sie. The orchestra, which has 92 musicians, is funded by the Urban Council, and also receives contributions and donations from commercial companies and individuals.
The orchestra continues to strive for excellence in its programmes. High quality programmes were brought together with famous guest conductors Tadaaki Otaka, Harold Farberman, George Cleve and world-renowned soloists such as Howard Shelley, Kazune Shimizu, Hu Nai Yuan, Janos Starker, Shura Cherkassky, Michael Collins and John Lill. The orchestra often performed with its choir, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus. Accompaniment was provided to the opera production The Tales of Hoffmann.