Eighty-five years ago the Helena May club opened its doors to women coming to Hong Kong as teachers, missionaries, nurses, secretaries and so on. It provided a safe haven while they became established. Now the club is using its 85th birthday to highlight women's achievements since. Betty Tung opens the week's events and Anson Chan is a keynote speaker.
Among the week-long celebrations is a concert not to be missed. In Women Of Note, the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong gives a concert featuring the work of women composers. Included will be the premiere of a work by Hong Kong composer Joyce Tang. Top Hong Kong soprano Katusha (right) will perform.
The concert includes work from Fanny Mendelssohn, sister of Felix, who when asked once what music he liked best, said he preferred Fanny's but urged their mother not to let his sister publish her compositions in case it disturbed her. There's a talk to explain more about women composers at the end of the concert.
The HKUST Arts Festival opens this week with a concert featuring the HKUST Student Union Band Society and a choir, performing an East-West mix of music. This popular campus arts festival, the fifth, will include dance shows, exhibitions, theatre workshops and concerts presented both by students and outside arts organisations over the next month.
Feb 26, 1pm-2pm. Exposition Hall, HKUST. Free. Tel: 2358 6149