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that we have to accept, and perhaps come up with a more long term thinking on it, rather than to rely on our General Duty Teams and the $40 fines that the Court impose to do the job?
Sir, I support the motion.
DR. PHILIP C. K. Kwok (in English):- Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to speak on two different activities that I am deeply involved in.
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra continues to be the focal point of musical activity in Hong Kong. Giving approximately 100 concerts a year, its home base remains the City Hall Concert Hall where the concerts, jointly presented in association with the Urban Council, continue to attract average audiences well in excess of 80%. Regular concerts also are given at the Academic Community Hall in Kowloon and at Tsuen Wan Town Hall in the New Territories. But a marked feature of the development of the Orchestra and its growing commitment to the community can be seen in the number of new venues in which concerts have been given in the past year. Most notable are the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, the home of the Orchestra's Pops Concert series, and the Lut Sau Hall in Yuen Long. In addition, there have been concerts at the Sir Run Run Shaw Auditorium and the Marden Recreation Hall in Sha Tin and at the Keswick Hall in the Hong Kong Polytechnic.
In an effort to broaden its audience base even further, the Orchestra will this month make its first commercial gramophone recording for over three years, the first in what is hoped to be a long term recording project. The Pops Concerts on January 13th and 14th will be recorded for television by R.T.H.K. for later transmission on the commercial channels. R.T.H.K.'s extensive radio coverage of the Orchestra includes relays of all concerts, bringing the Orchestra regularly into tens of thousands of homes, and programmes on the Chinese channels to give listeners some background insight into the lives of the Orchestra's members.
The General Committee of the Philharmonic Society, on which six nominees of the Urban Council serve, is committed to the development of the Orchestra as a fine medium size symphony orchestra comparable to those of other major cities. If, as I mentioned at the outset, the Orchestra is the focal point of musical activity in Hong Kong, there can be no doubt that it is also the keystone on which Government policy towards the musical Arts is based. With the establishment of the Department of Recreation and Culture, the Government has re-affirmed its commitment to a development of the musical Arts through education. The Music Office, the Conservatory of Music and the recently announced Academy of the Performing Arts will all be the vital links in the chain of Government policy. Without a very good philharmonic orchestra, not only is that chain weakened, but the very policy is seriously devalued.
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Philharmonic players are needed to train the next generation of young Hong Kong musicians and the Philharmonic concerts must provide a standard of excellence to which these musicians must aspire. If we fail to achieve this, we run the risk of increasing the drain of really talented young musicians to orchestras overseas.
Localization is a matter that has often been raised in discussions about the Philharmonic. I said in this debate last year, and I repeat it again today, that localization remains the long term policy of the Society. To that end, we have recently taken steps to establish a pool of local freelance musicians who can gain valuable playing experience with the Orchestra and be better equipped to take auditions for full time positions when these become vacant. Fifteen young Hong Kong players are presently members of this pool. In addition, we liaise very closely with both the Music Office and the Conservatory of Music to watch the progress of those young players who we hope will one day become members of the Orchestra. But all this takes time, and for the present we need and we are pleased to welcome into the Orchestra players from overseas who can contribute their professional skills to the Orchestra and can pass on their experience and expertise to their students. In the fields of business and commerce, is this not how Hong Kong has achieved its status in the world today?
It is in large measure thanks to the Council that the Philharmonic is today a fine young orchestra with a high standard of performance. Guest artists and experts from overseas musical organizations continually express surprise and amazement that the Hong Kong Philharmonic has progressed so quickly since its first tentative steps towards professionalism in 1974. Mr. Basil TSCHAIKOV, one of Britain's most respected musicians, said in a Report to the Society's General Committee earlier this year that the performances he heard in May 'compared equally with those to be heard in cities of a similar size elsewhere'. And evidence of the Orchestra's growing international reputation comes in the form of 3 invitations which we have received to take the Orchestra to Europe and the United States.
But TSCHAIKOV commenced in his Report by reminding the Society that 'the symphony orchestra is the most highly developed complex and expensive instrument yet devised'. The Philharmonic's budget this year is $11.5 million. At a first glance, that seems to be a lot of money, but you must realize that it covers the salaries of 82 full time musicians, the part-time freelance players, engagement of guest artists and conductors and the supporting office staff and other expenses like rental of venues, transportations and, office administration and promotion. Indeed, the budget is far from generous and is only a fraction of that of a comparable Western Orchestra. Our budgets for the next three years have been submitted to the Council and the Government, but if the Orchestra is going to maintain and increase its service to the community, it is vitally important that the community at large begins to play a greater role in
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that we have to accept, and perhaps come up with a more long term thinking on it, rather than to rely on our General Duty Teams and the $40 fines that the Court impose to do the job?
Sir, I support the motion.
DR. PHILIP C. K. Kwok (in English):-Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to speak on two different activities that I am deeply involved in.
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra continues to be the focal point of musical activity in Hong Kong. Giving approximately 100 concerts a year, its home base remains the City Hall concert Hall where the concerts, jointly presented in association with the Urban Council, continue to attract average audiences well in excess of 80%. Regular concerts also are given at the Academic Community Hall in Kowloon and at Tsuen Wan Town Hall in the New Territories. But a marked feature of the development of the Orchestra and its growing commitment to the community can be seen in the number of new venues in which concerts have been given in the past year. Most notable are the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, the home of the Orchestra's Pops Concert series, and the Lut Sau Hall in Yuen Long. In addition, there have been concerts at the Sir Run Run Shaw Auditorium and the Marden Recreation Hall in Sha Tin and at the Keswick Hall in the Hong Kong Polytechnic.
In an effort to broaden its audience base even further, the Orchestra will this month make its first commercial gramophone recording for over three years, the first in what is hoped to be a long term recording project. The Pops Concerts on January 13th and 14th will be recorded for television by R.T.H.K. for later transmission on the commercial channels. R.T.H.K.'s extensive radio coverage of the Orchestra includes relays of all concerts, bringing the Orchestra regularly into tens of thousands of homes, and programmes on the Chinese channels to give listeners some background insight into the lives of the Orchestra's members.
The General Committee of the Philharmonic Society, on which six nominees of the Urban Council serve, is committed to the development of the Orchestra as a fine medium size symphony orchestra comparable to those of other major cities. If, as I mentioned at the outset, the Orchestra is the focal point of musical activity in Hong Kong, there can be no doubt that it is also the keystone on which Government policy towards the musical Arts is based. With the establishment of the Department of Recreation and Culture, the Government has re-affirmed its commitment to a development of the musical Arts through education. The Music Office, the Conservatory of Music and the recently announced Academy of the Performing Arts will all be the vital links in the chain of Government policy. Without a very good philharmonic orchestra, not only is that chain weakened, but the very policy is seriously devalued.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 113 of 146
183
Philharmonic players are needed to train the next generation of young Hong Kong musicians and the Philharmonic concerts must provide a standard of excellence to which these musicians must aspire. If we fail to achieve this, we run the risk of increasing the drain of really talented young musicians to orchestras overseas.
Localization is a matter that has often been raised in discussions about the Philharmonic. I said in this debate last year, and I repeat it again today, that localization remains the long term policy of the Society. To that end, we have recently taken steps to establish a pool of local freelance musicians who can gain valuable playing experience with the Orchestra and be better equipped to take auditions for full time positions when these become vacant. Fifteen young Hong Kong players are presently members of this pool. In addition, we liaise very closely with both the Music Office and the Conservatory of Music to watch the progress of those young players who we hope will one day become members of the Orchestra. But all this takes time, and for the present we need and we are pleased to welcome into the Orchestra-players from overseas who can contribute their professional skills to the Orchestra and can pass on their experience and expertise to their students. In the fields of business and commerce, is this not how Hong Kong has achieved its status in the world today?
It is in large measure thanks to the Council that the Philharmonic is today a fine young orchestra with a high standard of performance. Guest artists and experts from overseas musical organizations continually express surprise and amazement that the Hong Kong Philharmonic has progressed so quickly since its first tentative steps towards professionalism in 1974. Mr. Basil TSCHAIKOV, one of Britain's most respected musicians, said in a Report to the Society's General Committee earlier this year that the performances he heard in May 'compared equally with those to be heard in cities of a similar size elsewhere'. And evidence of the Orchestra's growing international reputation comes in the form of 3 invitations which we have received to take the Orchestra to Europe and the United States.
But TSCHAIKOV commenced in his Report by reminding the Society that 'the symphony orchestra is the most highly developed complex and expensive instrument yet devised'. The Philharmonic's budget this year is $11.5 million. At a first glance, that seems to be a lot of money, but you must realize that it covers the salaries of 82 full time musicians, the part-time freelance players, engagement of guest artists and conductors and the supporting office staff and other expenses like rental of venues, transportations and, office administration and promotion. Indeed, the budget is far from generous and is only a fraction of that of a comparable Western Orchestra. Our budgets for the next three years have been submitted to the Council and the Government, but if the Orchestra is going to maintain and increase its service to the community, it is vitally important that the community at large begins to play a greater role in
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