The Orchestra Academy Hong Kong Announces Selected Musicians For Fellowship Programme and Young Pro Platform

The Orchestra Academy Hong Kong (TOA) announces the musicians who have been selected for TOA's two schemes - Fellowship Programme and Young Pro Platform.

TOA is co-directed by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) to provide professional training for distinguished HKAPA Music graduates and facilitate their career development in the orchestral field. Those who are admitted to TOA will also contribute their talents to serve the community through volunteering opportunities. TOA is funded by "TrustTomorrow" of The Swire Group Charitable Trust (Swire Trust) with a pledged sponsorship of approximately HK$9 million over a 3-year period.

Under the Fellowship Programme, candidates have undergone a competitive selection process, which featured two rounds of auditions. Selection panel members comprise the Music Director of the HK Phil, Jaap van Zweden, SBS, the Dean of Music of HKAPA, Professor Sharon Choa, as well as HK Phil musicians and HKAPA School of Music faculty members. The HK Phil Music Director, Jaap van Zweden, welcomes the initiative. "I have been pleased by the standard of the applications and by the high quality of their performances at the auditions. The preparation shown by the candidates was impressive and I look forward to working with the six Fellows alongside the Orchestra in the coming season."

The six selected Fellows (*please refer to the list of selected Fellows below) will undergo an intensive orchestral training with the HK Phil in its 2021/22 season, learning about the expectations and protocols of a professional orchestra, while performing a wide range of symphonic repertoire. In the mentorship scheme, each Fellow will pair up with an assigned HK Phil musician to gain insights into the professional life of orchestral players.

The other scheme, Young Pro Platform offers a versatile season-long programme of full ensemble concerts with Philharmonia APA (PAPA) and a series of chamber concerts. The Platform encourages players to commit to high-calibre performances and to take an active role in curating specially designed concert programmes.

Young Pro Platform selected 16 players. In the audition, apart from a classical piece, candidates were asked to perform a work from the non-classical repertoire as well as to present a creative programme for the Platform.

Professor Choa reflects on the non-traditional audition requirements, "Candidates chose pieces from styles as varied as jazz, Latin and contemporary music, highlighting in the process their own personality and their virtuosic musical skills. We were also pleasantly impressed by their innovative concert ideas with special designed themes and integration of multidisciplinary or site-specific elements. We look forward to curating some of their ideas in the coming season."

Ms Tina Chan, Group Head of Philanthropy for John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd, who leads the Swire Trust, said, "It is encouraging to see that this one-of-a-kind programme not only prepares emerging talented musicians to thrive as professionals in the performing arts industry, but also offers them the opportunity to 'pay it forward' through skilled volunteering, allowing them to spend time teaching music to young people and playing music to underprivileged groups. We are proud to be a sponsor of this good cause under TrustTomorrow - a HK$150-million philanthropic initiative that funds inspirational projects in the areas of Arts, Education and Marine Conservation. We look forward to seeing the performance of the musicians."