WHEN LEANNE NICHOLLS arrived in Hong Kong from Adelaide about 17 years ago, the performing arts scene seemed so lacklustre it was enough to make her want to turn around and head straight back to Australia. She didn't. A decade later, in 1999, she founded the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK), staged its first public concert, began quickly establishing a reputation that has been growing steadily ever since.
This Saturday, the orchestra will perform under guest conductor German Augusto Gutierrez in a concert described as a 'unique fusion of tango and classical', featuring bandoneon player Daniel Binelli and pianist Polly Ferman. Typical in its unusual programme content, it's a highlight of their current season - the first one to take subscriptions in advance, which Nicholls sees as another step forward.
'There wasn't much going on in 1989 except for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra,' Nicholls says. 'But I realised that, rather than just mope about it, I ought to get out there and do something about it.'
As a professional oboist, her vision for a new chamber orchestra was framed by her experience as a performer, having played with both the HKPO and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. 'I was contracted with [the Sinfonietta] for seven years during its development,' she says. 'But, in the Hong Kong Arts Festival, a chamber orchestra would visit every year and I saw how popular it was, probably because we didn't maintain a chamber orchestra of professional standard. This was a clear niche to fill.'
Her purpose in claiming that niche was twofold: giving audiences what they'd be unlikely to hear unless an overseas group came to Hong Kong; and giving the musicians what they wanted to play. 'Musicians who have a lot of experience with big orchestras always come back to chamber music because it's the most fulfilling, especially when we perform without a conductor and they're more involved with the interpretation of the music,' Nicholls says.
An orchestra can only be as good as the musicians it employs, however, and Nicholls is eager to dispel the myth that the city's two major symphony orchestras have the monopoly over the best players. 'There's this misconception in Hong Kong that professional means full-time and an unfortunate thinking that teaching and playing are two separate things,' she says. 'It's very important that students see their teachers performing on stage.'
During the early years, it was inevitable that funding would be Nicholls' biggest obstacle. Artistic vision has never been a problem for her, but it requires thinking at least two years in advance to get the artists she wants. She recalls 'the difficulty of planning that far ahead, and then the sponsorship didn't come in or the government project grants weren't received'.