The band's performing percussionist, Toni Espa?ol, said: 'The union of different styles and musical influences has been decisive for our creative process. African, American, Cuban and Spanish cultures are all mixed up in our style. We work with instruments from Senegal, such as the djembe and thioung, the udu from Nigeria, and the cajon, which although originally from Brazil is common in Spanish music.'

The show is good for the whole family.

In the show Around the World in 80 Minutes, Amadinda mixes various traditional and non-traditional instruments, such as a bicycle wheel.

'Any kind of object can be part of a composition or a performance. The only question is how to use them,' artistic director Zoltan Racz said. 'Many percussion instruments are very simple, basic objects, but many of them are wonderful examples of craftsmanship and imagination.

'Contemporary music has lots of connection with music of previous ages. This is the reason we combine traditional music with classical and contemporary pieces. The public does not need to be experts in the 20th-century music; it is enough if they listen to the compositions with open ears and hearts.'

The Feria Musica's Le Vertige du Papillon show also mixes past and present traditions, but in the form of a circus.

'The 'circus' where we have our roots was born in France at the beginning of the '80s,' said artistic director Philippe de Coen.

'Companies such as Cirque Aligre, Le Puits Aux and the Cirque Plume were created around that time, each in their own way brought a new way of looking at the circus,' he said. 'There are, however, certain similarities. The new shows no longer solely emphasise technique; they also integrate meaning. Far from denying tradition, these companies revisited the mythical elements of the circus and gave them a new breath of life.

'Our shows are not built on a series of acts linked to one another in an original way,' he continued, 'but are an attempt to offer an organic work wherein the circus acts serve the poetic whole. The work becomes a collective event in which each person develops a character and weaves multiple encounters and experiences.'

This is Feria Musica's first performance in China following a successful tour across Europe.

Another family-oriented performance, Sing Out, is performed by the Hong Kong Children's Choir, which has become regarded as one of the best children's choirs in the world.

Conductor Kathy Fok said the group's choral music embodied 'unity' and 'harmony'. She said the choir not only cultivated children's interest in music, but also helped them 'understand the importance of respect and how to live harmoniously with one another through choral singing'.

The choir's repertoire is vast, ranging from 16th to 20th-century Chinese music as well as world titles from countries such as the United States, Italy, Spain, Hungary and Africa.

To celebrate the Arts Festival's 35th anniversary, the choir will pay tribute to several local composers with numbers such as Looking Afar from Chan Wing-wah, When the Green Woods Laugh from Victor Chan Wai-kwong, and the religious work Holy Mountain from Doming Lam, 'the pioneer of new Hong Kong music'.

The choir will also perform the world premiere of Mom I Play by Richard Tsang Yip-fat. Fok described it as 'a very educational piece that aims to encourage children's musical creativity'. It is interactive and will include audience participation.

Camut Band: February 24, 25, 26, Concert Hall, City Hall; Amadinda: March 11, Concert Hall, City Hall; Feria Musica: March 22, 23, 24, 25, Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts; The Hong Kong Children's Choir: March 9, Concert Hall, Cultural Centre