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Hong Kong Children’s Symphony Orchestra set for historic Vienna debut alongside renowned boys' choir

The touring youngsters aged eight to 17 will perform with the city's renowned boys' choir, who will be hosted in Hong Kong in October

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Veteran music educator and conductor Dr Yip Wai-hong leads the Hong Kong Children's Symphony Orchestra during a performance in Los Angeles last month. Photo: Yip Wai-hong

The city's young musical ambassadors will make a historic debut at the world's classical music centre next week to kick-start a cultural exchange with their world-renowned counterpart.

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The 62-member Hong Kong Children's Symphony Orchestra will perform next week with the renowned Vienna Boys' Choir in the Austrian capital. The four concerts in Vienna and Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, will constitute the second leg of an extensive tour by the youth ensemble after their acclaimed performances in Los Angeles and Taiwan last month.

"This is the first time our young musicians have been invited to take part in an official capacity representing Hong Kong in a cultural exchange programme with Austria," said Yip Wai-hong, 84, who founded the orchestra in 1996, before he and the group departed on Sunday.

Dr Yip Wai-hong founded the orchestra in 1996. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Dr Yip Wai-hong founded the orchestra in 1996. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The children's orchestra, whose members are aged eight to 17, will perform with the Vienna Boys' Choir in two concerts starting next Tuesday at MuTh, the home of the five-century-old Austrian choir. Jimmy Chiang - a former student of Yip - will be the conductor.

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Hong Kong will play host to the Vienna Boys' Choir in October under the baton of Chiang.

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