Published on: 24 October 2019
The Opening Concert on 10 October 2024 marked the grand kickoff of the 10th anniversary of CityUHK Arts Festival whilst adding a vibrant touch to CityUHK's 30th anniversary celebration.
In his opening address, Professor Henry CHUNG Shu-hung, Dean of Students and Chairman of the Cultural and Sports Committee, said that this year's Arts Festival theme, "What's NEXT?", highlighted the challenges of performing arts and CityUHK performers would bravely embrace in the future and look forward to their achievement in the higher artistic arena.
After seven months of preparation and devotion of hundreds of CityUHK performers, the concert presented a gala of East-meet-West music with three world-class performers – Ms Lucia YUNG Tsang-shien, the Principal Bassoonist of the Macao Orchestra; Ms Eva WONG Hiu-ching, Erhuist; and Ms Tra NGUYEN, British-Vietnamese pianist. The highlight of the night was the first-time crossover performance by the CityUHK Philharmonic Orchestra and CityUHK Choir for Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, a challenging work that united all their musical forces and brilliantly showcased the dedication of the CityUHK performers. Ms WONG and Ms YUNG performed a specially arranged version of Chrysanthemums Terrace, with an excellent mixture of bassoon and erhu to mark the end of this wonderful evening, met with the audience's applause and cheers.