ENG-1979 — Page 267

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RECREATION AND THE ARTS

schools, parks, playgrounds, community halls and factories youth orchestras, bands and ensembles, and other groups.

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and were presented by the

Visiting musicians are invited to run master classes and seminars to help broaden the outlook and experience of Hong Kong's young musicians. A total of 124 master classes and seminars have been held for more than 7,000 students and music lovers.

The office also organises international exchange programmes. The Philippines Youth Orchestra visited Hong Kong in May and two concerts were given for an audience of 2,700 people. In June, 1979, the Australian Youth Orchestra came to Hong Kong and performed for an audience of 1,400 people.

In August, the Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra participated in the International Festival of Youth Orchestras in Aber- deen, Scotland. During their visit to the United Kingdom, which lasted a month, the two youth orchestras gave 17 public performances at various cities. In addition, the orchestras gave two concerts in Paris.

The Second Hong Kong Youth Symphonic Band Festival was held in November. Two guest bands, one from Singapore and the other from the Philippines, took part in the five public concerts given with 20 local bands. In December, Hong Kong hosted the Third Asian Youth Music Camp. Nine countries in Asia sent representatives to the camp. The youth orchestras formed at the camp gave seven performances in Hong Kong for audiences totalling more than 20,000 people.

Public Records Office

The Public Records Office of Hong Kong, located at Murray Road, Central District, was established in 1972. It houses the archives of the Hong Kong Government which are of permanent value for official reference and private research.

The Public Records Office accommodates more than 5,000 shelf metres of records trans- ferred from 105 government agencies, and more than 50 shelf metres of archival material and manuscripts received from private institutions and individuals. In addition, there is a refer- ence library which contains published works and microfilm copies of archives and manu- scripts relating to Hong Kong. There are also valuable collections of maps and photographs. Public access to the government archives is subject to formal approval, but access to the library, including the microfilm, map and photograph collections, is unrestricted.

During the year, the storage capacity of the Public Records Office repository was ex- hausted and use of temporary annexes has been resorted to, pending the provision of additional, fully-equipped premises.

Hong Kong Museum of Art

The Hong Kong Museum of Art presented 12 exhibitions in 1979. While most of the exhibi- tions focused on Chinese and contemporary local art, there were two exhibitions of Japanese and French art. Besides the Urban Council's presentations, co-sponsorship was sought from the Consulate General of France and the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong for two of the exhibitions. Seven illustrated catalogues were produced for the exhibitions. An exhibition of cybernetic art was the first of its kind in Asia.

During the year, 318,464 people visited the exhibitions - an average of 1,044 a day. The museum also organised regular film shows and guided tours for school groups. Small exhibitions were arranged for lending, free-of-charge, to schools, libraries and cultural institutions.

Significant pieces acquired by the museum in 1979 included a female funerary figurine of the Han Dynasty and a Hsing-type white-glazed bowl of the Tang (Tang) Dynasty; a