HONG KONG, May 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Youth Square is a project commissioned by the HKSAR Government's Home Affairs Bureau, and aims to facilitate the youth to fully develop their potential. This year, Youth Square "Garden of the Artisans" Arts Festival is presenting a series of art and cultural exchange events. One of the highlights is co-organising with different youth talents from Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Shanghai to organise a series of music and dance performances between May and September 2017 so as to foster their mutual understanding and friendship through the process of rehearsal and performance.
The opening show was co-organised by Youth Square and Shenzhen Youth Federation, "Shenzhen x Hong Kong Art & Culture Exchange Festival - HK Stop" and debuted on 13 May 2017 in Youth Square located in Chai Wan. The event was honoured to be supported by the convenor and Artistic Director Ms Xu Xia, and invited various elite performers from Hong Kong and Shenzhen, including Ms Grace Chiang of Diocesan Girls' School Choir, Ms Dorothy Hui of Diocesan Girls' School Orchestra, Ms Hu Manxue of Shenzhen Senior High School Lily Children's Choir, Mr Luo Zhenhua of Shenzhen Experimental School Symphony Orchestra, and Mr Gian Paolo Peloso, Conductor special invited by Musicus Society. They performed together with the four music groups from Hong Kong and Shenzhen secondary schools to unleash their music talent on the stage of Youth Square.
"Shenzhen x Hong Kong Art & Culture Exchange Festival - HK Stop" Opening Ceremony was honoured to invite various officials and guests from Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and officiating guests include Mr Chen Lin, Director-General of Department of Youth Affairs, Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Mr Vincent Fung, Principal Assistant Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Xu Youjun, Vice Chairman of Shenzhen Municipal CPPCC, Mr Pan Jiadong, Officer of Shenzhen CPPCC Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr Liu Guangyang, Chairman of Shenzhen Youth Federation, Ms Leonie Ki, CPPCC Member, Executive Director of New World Development Co. Ltd. and Vice-Chairman of Musicus Society, Ms Doris Luey, Executive Director of Youth Square, Ms Xu Xia, Convenor and Artistic Director, Ms Chui-Inn Lee, President of Musicus Society and Mrs Janice Choi, MH, Chairman of Musicus Society to inaugurate the arts festival.
Mr Vincent Fung, Principal Assistant Secretary for Home Affairs said, "In this special day on celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Youth Square is glad to be supported by various organisations, and co-organise this event with Shenzhen Youth Federation to create an opportunity for youth from Hong Kong and Shenzhen to interact through music. The music elites can understand each other through communications, and to create a valuable friendship through music."
Two renowned choirs joint concert for the first time in Hong Kong
The opening ceremony commenced on 13 May with "The Same Song" concert choir, performed by Hong Kong Diocesan Girls' School Choir and Shenzhen Senior High School Lily Girls Choir. Both groups have won numerous awards in different global choir competitions, and being the best groups in class. They are invited to perform together on stage for the first time in Hong Kong representing youth choirs in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
During the night, both groups performed their refreshing masterpiece, including classics like "Welcome the Sun", "Spark (To Music)", "Wai Saluo" and "Closer to you". Ms Grace Chiang of Diocesan Girls' School led the choir to competitions all around the world and won a lot of prizes. Ms Hu Manxue is the current conductor of Shenzhen Senior High School Lily Children's Choir. Both teachers believed that both groups are very blessed to perform on stage together for the first time in Hong Kong. This was an invaluable experience to them to learn from each other. The two teams finally sang together at the last song representing Hong Kong - "Pearl of the Orient".
"The Golden Age" Orchestra Performance on 14 May was performed by Diocesan Girls' School Symphony Orchestra and Shenzhen Experimental School Symphony Orchestra. Mr Gian Paolo Peloso (Italy), Conductor special invited by Musicus Society also led the orchestra to perform "Antonin Dvorak: Carnival Overture". Before the show began, Mrs Lau Kun Lai-kuen, Stella, JP, Principal of Diocesan Girls' School and Ms Dorothy Hui, Diocesan Girls' School Orchestra exchanged souvenirs with Ms Long Ping, Principal of Shenzhen Experimental School and Mr Luo Zhenhua, Conductor of Shenzhen Experimental School Symphony Orchestra on behalf of Hong Kong and Shenzhen respectively. It is expected that there will be more opportunities for cultural cooperation and exchanges between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in the future.
Youth Square "Garden of the Artisans" Festival will continue delivering a wave of music and dance activities. In August, Youth Square will co-organise with Guangdong Modern Dance Company and Guangzhou Opera House to hold a Guangdong and Hong Kong Youth Dance Exchange Program. In addition, Hong Kong music elites will perform A Cappella vocal music with local youth musicians in Shanghai during September. The youth will unleash their talents through the cooperation. Please visit Youth Square website for further details.
Photos download: https://goo.gl/QFvQWE
Youth Square "Garden of the Artisans" Arts Festival presents "Shenzhen x Hong Kong Art & Culture Exchange Festival - HK Stop" Opening Ceremony and "The Same Song" concert choir was successfully held on 13 May at Youth Square, Chai Wan. Hong Kong Diocesan Girls' School Choir and Shenzhen Senior High School Lily Girls Choir performed their refreshing masterpieces and sang "Pearl of the Orient" together for the first time in Hong Kong.
"The Golden Age" Orchestra Performance on 14 May was performed by Hong Kong Diocesan Girls' School Symphony Orchestra and Shenzhen Experimental School Symphony Orchestra, featuring Italian conductor special invited by Musicus Society, Mr Gian Paolo Peloso, performed various surging masterpieces to the audience.
About"Shenzhen x Hong Kong Art & Culture Exchange Festival"
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and to strengthen the communication between the youth of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Youth Square co-operated with Shenzhen Youth Federation and related departments to hold "Shenzhen x Hong Kong Art & Culture Exchange Festival" during May to July 2017 under the guidance of Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong S.A.R., Shenzhen Municipal CPPCC, Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department. With the theme of celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and interactions between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the event fully delivers the positive and dynamic image of the youth from Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and fosters the communication and cooperation through the culture, art, economic and social aspects.
Shenzhen is the closest city to Hong Kong, and the youth from the two places are frequently interacting with each other. The art festival focused on cultural exchange and invited the most representative students, youth delegates and groups in Shenzhen and Hong Kong to be the guest performers which brought nine quality performances to Shenzhen and Hong Kong citizens. Despite the performances from Diocesan Girls' School Choir and Shenzhen Senior High School Lily Children's Choir during the opening ceremony, other Hong Kong performance groups include: The Learners Chorus, Musicus Society, Diocesan Girls' School Wind Orchestra, VTC Symphony Orchestra, and Youth violinist Mr John Sit; Shenzhen performance groups include: Shenzhen Experimental School Symphony Orchestra, Youth Symphony Orchestra by Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Chorus "Caisangzi" of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Ukulele Association and youth pianist Ms Cai Huiping. The most exciting day of the Shenzhen x Hong Kong Art & Culture Exchange Festival will be 18 June as our Ambassador World-class cellist Mr Trey Lee will be in joint performance with Youth Symphony Orchestra by Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra and Shenzhen Experimental School Symphony Orchestra presenting classical music to youth and citizens of both cities. The Season of Art spreads across two months with a thousand performers is expected to reach a total of 200,000 youth of the cities.
New World Facilities Management Company Limited
New World Facilities Management Company Limited is a non-profit making company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of New World Group (HK Stock Code: 00017). Embracing the mission of youth development and supporting youth to contribute to society, we strive to develop Youth Square as the platform for youth to exchange knowledge and experience and to develop and discover their potential.
Youth Square
The Youth Square, which came into full operation in 2010, is a youth development project of the Home Affairs Bureau of the HKSAR Government, with an aim to be the hub of diversified youth development activities for youth to develop their potential. Youth Square facilities include the 643-seat Y Theatre, Y Studio, multi-function areas and the Y Loft which has 148 guest rooms. Youth Square has been conducting over 100 themed events under "Music & Dance", "Arts & Culture" and "Community Engagement". Youth Square has been holding over 7,500 youth events and served for more than 1.6 million participants since 2010. In addition, with participants came from more than 60 countries or regions, Y Loft has been providing accommodations for more than 70,000 youths who participated in various exchange programmes in Hong Kong. Youth Square is located in Chai Wan and is managed and operated by New World Facilities Management Company Limited on a non-profit making basis.
6G model is Youth Square's guiding principle. 6G refers to Groom, Grow, Glow, Green, Global Vision and Give Back.
Official web site: http://www.youthsquare.hk.
Musicus Society
Musicus Society is a registered charity founded in 2010 under the vision of cellist Trey Lee, which aims to promote music and its education through cross-cultural collaboration. The Society's core activities include cross-cultural collaborations between local and overseas artists, commissioning of new music based on Chinese culture, and support of music education for students of all social backgrounds to foster future cultural ambassadors from Hong Kong. Website: www.MusicusSociety.org
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