The Hong Kong Sinfonietta is a professional symphony orchestra based in Hong Kong. It was established in 1990 by a group of local music graduates. It has always aimed at promoting classical music to the public. The orchestra was reorganised 1999, with Tsung Yeh, an American conductor of Chinese descent, as the new music director. The incumbent conductor and music director, Wing-sie Yip, joined the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in April 2002, and since then, the orchestra has widened its range of repertoire, hoping to increase the spectrum of classical music admirers. It is financially supported by the HKSAR government. The Hong Kong Sinfonietta has been invited to several other countries for tours, including the Saint-Riquier Festival in 2001, both the Saint-Riquier Festival and Les Flâneries Musicales d’Été de Reims in 2004, La Folle Journée in Tokyo in 2007, 2009, and 2010, and a tour of South America in 2010. It also participates in local arts festivals such as the Hong Kong Arts Festival. The Hong Kong Sinfonietta currently uses the Hong Kong City Hall as its performance venue.
History
Founded in 1990 by a group of local musicians, Hong Kong Sinfonietta has since evolved to become one of Hong Kong's flagship professional orchestras. Together with renowned conductor Yip Wing-sie as Music Director, the orchestra has brought quality orchestral music closer to the community through innovative programming, as well as achieved significant recognition on local and international stages for its passionate and energetic performances. Since 1999, Hong Kong Sinfonietta has collaborated with an illustrious array of international musicians and groups, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Plácido Domingo, Augustin Dumay, Fou Ts’ong, Christopher Hogwood, Luciano Pavarotti, Pinchas Zukerman, The Royal Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, English National Ballet, New York City Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet. The orchestra has also been a regular participant at all the major festivals in Hong Kong including the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Le French May, Hong Kong International Film Festival and festivals presented by the Hong Kong Government. The orchestra performs year-round with over 90 performances a year and is the Venue Partner of the Hong Kong City Hall. Its discography includes CDs of works by Chinese composers on HUGO and two double-CD albums—"This is Classical Music" I and II—on DECCA, released in 2008 and 2010. Apart from performing standard orchestral repertoire, Hong Kong Sinfonietta commissions new works every year and ventures into crossover concerts with other art forms. As an avid believer of keeping music alive and contemporary, Hong Kong Sinfonietta was also the official orchestra for many years for the local contemporary music festival Musicarama. It also partners regularly with Hong Kong Ballet and Opera Hong Kong in their staged productions. On the educational front, Hong Kong Sinfonietta has pioneered specially-designed concerts for different age groups. New concepts on the Hong Kong concert stage, HKS for Kids, Short-cut to Classical Music, Know Your Classical Music, and HKS McDull Music Project have provided a new realm in audience development. In 2010, the orchestra launched One-hour Classics – a series of special concerts held at unconventional venues or times, offering a brand new type of concert experience. On tour, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta has performed at the Saint-Riquier Festival and Les Flâneries Musicales d’Été de Reims in France, Festival Pianistico Internazionale Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and Settimane Musicali al Teatro Olimpico in Italy, festivals in Lithuania, Shanghai Spring International Music Festival and at the NationalPhilharmonic Hall in Warsaw. Since 2006, the orchestra has become a regular guest at La Folle Journée in Tokyo with returned visits in 2007, 2009 and 2010. In 2010, the orchestra made its début in Beijing at the National Centre for the Performing Arts and became the first symphony orchestra from China to tour the South America. It also returned to Shanghai to perform at the China Shanghai International Arts Festival.
