RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
Music Office
The Music Office was set up by the government in 1977 and taken over by the two municipal councils on August 1, 1995. They maintained its objective of promoting music among the public, especially among young people in Hong Kong, through the provision of music training to enrich the quality of life in the territory.
A total of 669 instrumental music training classes have been conducted for 3 547 trainees. Apart from some major annual events such as the music camp, music interflows and overseas concert tour, about 220 regular concerts and district activities were organised and 88 536 enjoyed the Music Office's services during the year.
The British Council
One of the British Council's aims in the territory is to foster cultural understanding between Britain and Hong Kong through a balanced programme of music, drama, dance, exhibitions, literary events, film shows and related master classes and workshops. It also works in conjunction with the Urban Services Department, Regional Services Department, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Education Department, and many other local organisations to support collaborative projects between British and local artists.
In 1996, the council jointly organised several arts events including: concerts by Piano Circus, performances of The Duchess of Malfi by the theatre company Cheek by Jowl and the exhibition Making Space for Theatre Forty Years of British Theatre Architecture at the Hong Kong Arts Festival; concerts by Black Voices, solo shows by Lynn Ferguson and Tripitaka Theatre Company's Ivan Heng during the Hong Kong Fringe Festival; and the Martin Parr Home and Abroad photography exhibition at the Arts Centre.
It also organised concerts by the Hallé Orchestra from Manchester, and recitals by solo percussionist Eleven Glennie and the Hill/Wiltschinsky Guitar Duo. British conductor and early music specialist Peter Seymour joined his wife, soprano Yvonne Seymour, and tenor Joseph Cornwell in a Christmas Oratorio concert and various other events during December.
Cultural Events
Hong Kong Arts Festival
Since its inauguration in 1973, the Hong Kong Arts Festival has been regarded as a major international arts festival as well as the territory's premier arts event. In 1996, the Hong Kong Arts Festival delivered 11 local productions alongside 32 productions of the best in the world to an audience of 80 000. Local highlights were composer Kung Chi Shing's Destiny Travels Limited and playwright/director Cheung Tat- ming's production of Tropical Rainforest on to the Escalator with the Sand and Bricks collective. International highlights included the Lyon Opera Ballet production of Angelin Preljocaj's Romeo and Juliette and the Canadian Opera Company's double bill of Bark's Bluebird's Castle and Schoenberg's Rewriting.
Hong Kong Fringe Festival
The Hong Kong Fringe Festival was founded in 1982 and has developed from an annual open arts festival into a successful year-round operation which gives the
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