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The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra will continue its partnership with Swire Group, its main corporate sponsor for the last 15 years, after agreeing a new three-year package worth HK$46.4 million. Photo: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Hong Kong Philharmonic’s US$6 million funding boost helps it forget coronavirus woes

  • Swire Group has been the orchestra’s main corporate sponsor for 15 years and will extend its support for another three years in a US$6 million package
  • A new fellowship programme will also see six music graduates from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts receive intensive training
Music
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is happy to leave behind 2020, a year that saw nearly 100 of its concerts cancelled and its musicians forced into a government quarantine camp.

While performance venues in Hong Kong are still shut and overseas tours remain a distant dream, the orchestra has announced that a new sponsorship agreement with the Swire Group would allow it to adapt for the future as well as provide more community concerts and a new training programme for music students.

The conglomerate has been the orchestra’s main corporate sponsor for 15 years and it has extended its support for another three years in a package worth HK$46.4 million (US$6 million).

As part of the deal, the orchestra announced that it would provide free concerts at Swire shopping malls, as well as free performances catering to the needs of disadvantaged groups conducted by the orchestra’s music director, Jaap van Zweden.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra perform at the Swire Symphony Under The Stars 2020. Photo: Hong Kong Philharmonic

The HK$9 million “Orchestra Academy Hong Kong” fellowship programme will see six distinguished music graduates from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts receive intensive training and perform with the orchestra each season for the next three years. The initiative will allow students to get “deep insight into the life of an orchestra musician”, said Benedikt Fohr, chief executive of the orchestra.

Liu Yuen-sung, chairman of the HK Phil’s board of governors, said: “To maintain a high standard of performances, the orchestra requires substantial funding. Other than the unfailing support from the Hong Kong government, Swire has given the HK Phil the greatest amount of corporate sponsorships in history as our principal patron since 2006, enabling the orchestra to open doors to new opportunities around the world, realising our artistic aspirations and missions.”

Hong Kong Philharmonic musician pens piece on social distancing

When travelling begins again, the orchestra will be heading to nearby cities in China to fulfil its role as a cultural ambassador for Hong Kong. These include a series of concerts in the next three years planned for cities within the Greater Bay Area spanning southern Guangdong province, many of which boast new and extravagant concert venues.

The orchestra is also in discussion with online streaming platforms in China regarding long-term collaborations.

The orchestra has largely relied on financial support from the Hong Kong government to sustain its operations. In the 2019/20 financial year, government funds accounted for 63 per cent of the orchestra’s total income, compared with revenue and donations, which made up 18 per cent each.

(From left to right) Benedikt Fohr, chief executive of the HK Phil, Vennie Ho, HK Phil’s senior director of administration and finance, and Cindy Cheung, general manager group public affairs of Swire Group, at the launch of the new HK$46.4 million, three-year sponsorship deal.

Asked if government funding required the orchestra to help implement plans for integrating and developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, Vennie Ho, senior director of administration and finance, said: “Touring plans are something related to the artistic direction of the orchestra and the orchestra’s plans to promote itself in different overseas markets, and this may also depend upon invitations from overseas presenters.”

According to Ho, there are many high-quality concert halls in the Greater Bay Area. The opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and the high-speed rail line to Guangzhou has made travel between Hong Kong and cities in the Greater Bay Area more convenient.

Crew members at the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s 2020/21 season preview concert. The performance was the orchestra’s first live broadcast concert via a 5G network. Photo: Hong Kong Philharmonic

To offset the impact of coronavirus lockdowns, the HK Phil moved more than 50 programmes online, Fohr said.

He said both live concerts and online content would develop together even after the pandemic to cater to those who enjoy consuming classical music content on their electronic devices and to reach a much wider audience around the globe.

However, for the HK Phil to produce high-quality online concerts, Hong Kong needs venues with 5G internet connection as well as specialist classical music video producers, Fohr said.

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