HK Phil's Music for Kids Concert Presents 'The Magic Toyshop'

Dancing dolls in a magic toy store! The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra's (HK Phil) Assistant Conductor Vivian Ip conjures up fantasy and fun with her baton, while The Puppet and Its Double Theater from Taiwan tells the story of the Bold Umbrellaphant. Experience an innovative and fun-filled concert in which puppetry, mini-theatre and magical orchestral music tell fascinating stories and set us all off on the wings of imagination, two performances only on 22 & 23 September in the Tsuen Wan Town Hall Auditorium.

The setup of the puppet with real life projection on screen along with the orchestra will reveal the story of La Boutique Fantasque in which two can-can dancer dolls are bought by two families - one American, the other Russian. The thought of being parted from each other makes them very sad so they plan to run away with the rest of the toys. Respighi wrote this ballet music based on piano pieces by Rossini.

Lucas Richman, a Grammy-winning conductor who has worked with numerous major film composers is also an accomplished composer and his works written specifically for children have been featured in young people's concerts presented by orchestras throughout the United States. His Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant is based on a children's book by Children's poet Laureate Jack Prelutsky. Presented with puppets and projection, The Puppet and Its Double Theater will recreate the adventures of the umbrellaphant in the poem "Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant". Here, Prelutsky imagines an elephant who turns his trunk into an umbrella to protect him from any weather.

Also in the concert will be the first movement of Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony, scored string orchestra but with solo roles for such diverse musical instruments as a toy trumpet, a toy drum, a rattle, a cuckoo whistle, a quail and a nightingale. These toy instruments have made this a fun piece for children. There will also be the March from Prokofiev's opera The Love for Three Oranges inspired by the fairy tales of the 18th-century Italian writer Carlo Gozzi.

Music for Kids Series: The Magic Toyshop will be held on 22 & 23 September 2017 (Fri & Sat), 8PM, in the Tsuen Wan Town Hall Auditorium. Tickets priced: HK$320, $280, $180, $120 are now available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit www.hkphil.org.

Artists

Vivian Ip, conductor [full biography]

Vivian Ip is a native of Hong Kong. A graduate of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with first class honours. She later obtained a Master's Degree in Choral Conducting at the Indiana University Bloomington and a Master of Arts Degree in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. As an orchestral conductor, Vivian has worked and performed in Hong Kong and Europe with, among others, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. She has worked with world-class conductors including Riccardo Muti, Simon Rattle and Riccardo Chailly.

The Puppet & Its Double Theater (Taiwan) [full biography]

The Puppet and Its Double Theater was founded in 1999 in Taipei, and is made up of a group of enthusiastic puppet artists who promote the puppet as a tool for freely expressing the performing arts. The company creates an abundance of work that exhibits the visual media with a rich and infinite imagination, and they find new ways to interact with audiences of all ages. The company has earned an international reputation for the cultivation of contemporary puppet arts around the world. Through its continual efforts in creating new productions, educational promotions and international exchange, The Puppet and Its Double Theater hopes to elevate their audience's creativity and pursue the dream of innovation in puppetry, exposing the dynamic and rich possibilities of the puppet arts to Taiwan and the world.