String players (from left) Kwok Wing-yan, Antonia Wu, Li Ting-ho and Wong Ming-yeungA group of 77 young local musicians performed at The Culminating Concert of the Haw Par SummerFest at Diocesan Boys' School in Mong Kok. The audience was entertained by three student music ensembles: the Junior SoundFest Little Stars, the Hong Kong Junior Chinese Orchestra and the Haw Par SummerFest String Orchestra.
The Little Stars, comprising students aged four to eight, were tutored by musicians from the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO), Hong Kong Orff Schulwerk Association, and pianist Nancy Loo for two weeks in the lead-up to the concert. The HKCO also trained the members of the Hong Kong Junior Chinese Orchestra, which was founded in 2003.
The newly formed String Orchestra, meanwhile, had a rare opportunity - they were able to learn from members of the Koerner Quartet and the "Rising Stars" Quartet, both from the Vancouver Academy of Music in Canada.
The String Orchestra performed three pieces - Mozart's Divertimento in F major, Edward Elgar's Serenade for Strings in E minor and excerpts from Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons - during the show which was held on August 10.
To the audience's delight, the two Canadian quartets joined the students from the String Orchestra and also performed their own pieces.
The students said the musicians from Vancouver offered valuable advice during the five-day camp held before the concert. "The master class was the best part of the week," said cellist, Antonia Wu, 13. "It was a one-on-one lesson, so my teacher targeted my specific problems and helped me."
The students said they would love to take part in a similar concert again - proof that music is a truly "international language".
The programme was organised by the Haw Par Music Foundation and sponsored by the Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation.