The 35th Macao International Music Festival (MIMF), organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), sucessfully came to an end. This year, 16 eclectic programmes and 14 outreach activities were successfully held. Various captivating performances were brought to the stage, including the return of opera production in Macao and the debut of maestro Joe Hisaishi in the Region, the performances by maverick conductor Teodor Currentzis and his musicAeterna Orchestra, the a cappella enesembles Naturally 7 and the King’s Singers, and conductor Long Yu, “the most powerful figure in China’s classical music scene”, conducting the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Various artists participated in this edition of the MIMF, creating “melodic reconnections” with music aficionados.
With Lio Kuokman as the Festival’s programme director, the MIMF team meticulously prepared a rich musical journey intertwined with unique audiovisual experiences. The MIMF also actively sought to enhance communications with the audience through different platforms, with the promotion on new media and internet platforms reaching over 4 million people. The MIMF continued to carry out online promotion and publicity through local media channels from Macao and the Greater Bay Area. Some of the programmes were broadcasted by the China Media Group through new media platforms. A number of programmes were widely reported by the media and art critics at home and abroad, attracting the audience members to participate in this artistic and cultural event, thus seeking to contribute to the development of a great cultural Bay Area with the advantage of Macao’s privileged cultural resources.
Meanwhile, promotional activities and ticketing services were held at higher education institutions and at integrated resorts to engage different types of audiences. A number of outreach activities were held, including talks, workshops and community activities, offering diverse artistic experiences to residents, attracting nearly 4,000 participants. In addition, in order to increase the interaction between the communities, a mobile music salon themed around The Barber of Seville – Opera in Two Acts by Giochino Rossini, the opening show of the MIMF, was held during the Festival, bringing music into every corner of the city. The activity was well received by the public. In this year’s MIMF, in order to reinforce the admission and ticketing management for the programmes of the “Joe Hisaishi 360” series, and to avoid ticket scalping or tickets being used for promotional or commercial purposes, ticket purchase with identity verification was adopted for the first time, so as to allow more members of the public to enjoy the performances.
IC will continue to leverage the resources and strengths of the Macao International Music Festival to build an international exchange platform, promote music, art and culture, continue to expand the influence of branded festivals, attract more internationally renowned performances to Macao, thus building Macao into a “city of performing arts” and offering more avant-garde and artistic events for residents and tourists.
This edition of the MIMF was supported by the Macao Government Tourism Office, TDM – Teledifusão de Macau, S.A., Air Macau and Sands China Ltd, and benefited from the collaboration of several banks, credit card and media partners.
