45. As many as eighteen drama, feature, literary quiz and music programmes made up the Service's contributions to the 1960 Arts Festival. The music contributions included a further concert of Chinese instrumental music, an item which proved very popular last year, as well as concerts of contemporary Chinese music. For these contributions. Radio Hong Kong was again awarded the Liang Yu Society Award.
46. A special programme, in which listeners were invited to convey greetings to friends and relatives, was included as part of the inaugura- tion programmes of VHF/FM broadcasting. Ninety four medallions were awarded to those who took part in this programme as souvenirs of the occasion. The figure ninety four was chosen as the transmissions of the Chinese FM Service are made on 94.0 Mc/s.
Music
PROGRAMMES
47. A wide range of musical programmes was maintained throughout the year. The concerts produced for the 1960 Arts Festival, having merited the Liang Yu Society Award can, of course, be singled out for special mention. Yet, almost as interesting to the listeners were a series of musical magazine programmes featuring the music from twelve European countries, and the concert held at the Queen Elizabeth School in aid of the Anti-narcotics Drive in which some of the Colony's best known Chinese artists took part.
48. At the beginning of April a new programme series entitled 'Chinese Instrumental Music' was introduced, in which Chinese tradi- tional music was grouped by various districts. Other regular programmes which proved popular amongst the elder generations were 'The Celebrated Songs' and 'Nam Yum'. The artists for both of these series were blind.
49. There was a slight decrease in the number of broadcasts of Cantonese opera. There broadcasts are usually relayed from theatres in the Colony. One reason for the lower incident of public performances of Cantonese opera is believed to be the attraction of the best artists towards the film industry.
50. The regular Sunday evening programme 'Voice and String Harmonies' was a means of offsetting the shortage of Cantonese opera relays from public theatres. A great many well known artists broadcast over Radio Hong Kong in the course of this series. Another programme of a similar nature was 'Singing Platform' in which both Chinese and Western instruments were used to accompany famous singers.
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