ENG-2006 — Page 446

378 Recreation, Sport and the Arts

Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Founded in 1990 and turned professional in 1999, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta is an orchestra formed by local musicians, with a mission to make orchestral music more accessible to the public. Led by Music Director Yip Wing-sie, the orchestra is known for its innovative programming, new commissions, collaboration with other art forms and interactive educational concerts. In 2006, the orchestra gave over 70 performances, including six concerts at the La Folle Journée festival in Tokyo. Other highlights included concerts with Pinchas Zukerman, Pascal Rogé, Benjamin Schmid, rising stars Mengla Huang, Alison Balsom and Freddy Kempf, the HKS McDull Music Project, as well as a collaboration with comedian Jim Chim at Hong Kong Coliseum.

Theatre Ensemble

Established in 1993 under the artistic direction of the co-founders and associate artistic directors Jim Chim and Olivia Yan, Theatre Ensemble has endeavoured to create physical theatre works that are creative and humorous.

In addition to the resident programme PIP Let's Play, the company organised various art educational activities which included Stage Reading Workshop, Sunday Theatre to which underprivileged children and their parents were invited to see the company's children theatre productions and Art Tour.

The company's major productions in 2006 included premières of L'empereur du Chant, Faust auf dem Klosett, Children Theatre productions Moon 7 1/2, Papa Alibaba, Man of la Tiger (6th run), and You Yuan which was invited by Taiwan to participate in the International Theatre Festival there.

Zuni Icosahedron

Zuni Icosahedron is a multimedia experimental theatre group. Since its inception. in 1982, it has played an important role in opening new frontiers for Hong Kong's cultural scene. It has been active in theatre productions as well as in the areas of arts education, arts criticism and arts policy research.

In 2006, Zuni produced and presented over 50 performances. Productions included 1587, a Year of No Significance (History Theatre), the Three-Letter Opera (Social Theatre series), The Outcast General (Experimenting China series), Hong Kong Style (Multimedia Architecture Music Theatre series). Zuni also continued to organise multimedia theatre workshops and joint-school performances for students.

Visual Arts Groups

1a Space

1a space, founded in 1998 by a group of Hong Kong arts workers, is an independent, non-profit-making contemporary visual arts organisation. It aims to promote the critical dissemination of contemporary visual arts practices and affiliated art forms through programmes from Hong Kong and the world. In 2006, 1a space actively assisted in the holding of exhibitions on contemporary local arts and in organising cultural activities, international arts exchange and artist-in-residence programmes.