The Macao Chinese Orchestra (OCHM, from the Portuguese acronym), under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, will kick off its 2019-2020 concert season with the opening concert “Festival”, to be held on 1 September (Sunday), at 8pm, at the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium. Tickets for the new concert season are now on sale at the Macau Ticketing Network.
Professional performances to delight music aficionados and the general public
During the 2019-2020 concert season, the Macao Chinese Orchestra will host a number of greatly anticipated concerts in two series: the “Classic Series” and the “Special Productions Series”, under the direction of the Music Director and Principal Conductor Liu Sha. In the signature “Classic Series”, the Orchestra will present high-quality and professional performances of Chinese traditional music to local music aficionados, including “Festival”, “When the East Meets the West in Music”, “A Night at the Zenith” – Zhang Guoyong and Macao Chinese Orchestra, “Chinese Musical Milestone” – Wang Pujian and Macao Chinese Orchestra, and “Dance to Picturesque Melodies”. In the “Special Productions Series”, the Orchestra will present a series of extraordinary concerts, including the Guangdong Music Concert “Captivating Tunes from Guangdong”, Valentine’s Day Concert “Sentiments” – Lin Daye and Macao Chinese Orchestra, “Resounding Strings and Woodwinds” by dizi musicians Qian Qing and Lin Chia-ho, pipa musician Deng Le and zhongruan musician Lin Jie, “The Future Conductors” and Family Musical Theatre “Music Adventure III”, among others. It is definitely an appealing concert season that aficionados will certainly not want to miss.
The invigorating music of the opening concert “Festival” will resonate throughout the city
Under the baton of Liu Sha, the opening concert “Festival” will start with the percussion classic Flying Dragons and Jumping Tigers led by Head of the Guangdong National Orchestra of China Chen Zuohui, known as “the king of the drums”. The uplifting composition is a Chinese gong and drum classic with a strong traditional touch. Following the thunderous percussion melodies, Yuan Fang, a highly sought-after pianist, will stage the piano concerto Yellow River, which invigorates the patriotic spirit of many generations with its strikingly majestic notes. Journey to Lhasa, a classic of modern times by Kuan Nai-chung, conveys the maestro’s exuberant imagination and wild fantasy towards Tibet. Macao Impressions, composed by Zhao Jiping and commissioned by the Macao Chinese Orchestra in 2006, is presented in the form of rondo and depicts the prosperity of Macao after the handover through different musical themes. The elaborate repertoire demands the presence and admiration of music aficionados!
In addition to the opening concert “Festival”, it also includes two master classes “Piano master class by Yuan Fang” and “Percussion master class by Chen Zuohui”, to be held at 6:30pm on 30 August and at 3pm on 31 August at the School of Music of the Macao Conservatory, respectively. Interested parties may register for the master classes from today by phone through tel. no. 8399 6679 (Mr. Ho) or tel. no. 8399 6409 (Ms. Choi) during office hours, or email with their names and phone numbers to khho@icm.gov.mo. Applicants should submit their respective piano and Chinese percussion skill certificates for selection purposes.
In response to the support of music aficionados, various ticket discount packages are available for the 2019-2020 concert season. For details of the concerts and offers, please refer to the Macao Chinese Orchestra’s website at www.icm.gov.mo/ochm, the respective page on Facebook or its official WeChat account “Macao Chinese Orchestra”. 24-hour ticketing hotline: 2855 5555; online ticketing: www.macauticket.com.
