Hong Kong Children's Symphony Orchestra

Yesterday we had a very pleasant surprise. We went to yet another classical concert – this time a Wagner Prelude followed by Symphony No 1 by Prokopief and Piano Concerto No 2 by  Saint-Saens. The surprising thing was that the only adult playing was the Piano Soloist, Angela Cheng from Canada – all the other performers were the Hong Kong Children’s Symphony Orchestra, and all aged between 7 and 18 years old. Mind you, some of them even looked younger than 7 years old. We could hardly see their heads above their music stands! To all extents, if you closed your eyes and just listened, it was as if the orchestra was a full adult one. They were remarkable. Dr Yip Wai-hong founded the orchestra in 1996 on the principle that “When high quality music education is given to foster young buds, they shall sprout and become an influential force of Hong Kong culture in the future.”  He couldn’t have been more accurate!

And here's a very poorly taken photo - on my mobile phone and in a rush as they don't normally allow photos in the Concert Hall.