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
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 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.