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The Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO) opened its 2018 Rehearsal Camp on 16 July 2018 at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, with four Filipino musicians among the 100 young instrumentalists going on an intensive six-week training and concert tour of Asia.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam attended the opening ceremonies as Guest of Honor together with Philippine Consul General Antonio A. Morales, Japanese Consul General Kuninori Matsuda and other VIPs.

Recalling AYO’s successful world tour last year, Chief Executive Lam expressed gratitude ”because after your tour Hong Kong will be perceived not only as a financial centre, but really as a city with very talented young musicians being brought together from different parts of Asia.”

In his remarks, Consul General Morales congratulated the AYO for its work in developing young musical talent in the region and encouraged this year’s participants to take advantage of the opportunity and enrich their musical knowledge and skills. He also welcomed the AYO ahead of its visit to the Philippines in mid-August and extended well wishes.

The AYO is set to perform for three weeks starting on 3 August in 11 cities – including Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Xian, Beijing, Chiayi, Taipei, Ayase, Tokyo, and Manila – for performances showcasing a diverse repertoire of orchestral music. The Orchestra is set to perform at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on 16 and 17 August 2018.

The AYO’s diverse and extensive tour repertoire consists of works ranging from Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Profokiev, and Richard Wagner, to George Enescu, Samuel Barber and George Gershwin.

For this year’s edition, four young Filipino musicians passed the auditions to be part of the 100-member orchestra, namely, Leigh Cellano (Violin), Joven Edward Aquisap (Viola), Marloe Kyril H. Maruyama (Double Bass), and Alexis Constantino (Percussion). The other members come from Taiwan, Japan, mainland China, Korea, Singapore and Thailand.

Chosen through highly competitive auditions held throughout the region, 100 members are together for six weeks each summer, initially for a three-week Rehearsal Camp in Hong Kong that serves as a tuition-free summer international cultural exchange program, then for a three-week international concert tour with celebrated conductors and solo artists.

 

(Front row from left) Consul General Antonio A. Morales, Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg, AYO Board Chairman James Thompson, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, AYO Artistic Director and Conductor Richard Pontzious, and Japanese Consul General Matsuda Kuninori take to the front with 100 members of the Asian Youth Orchestra at the 2018 Rehearsal Camp Opening Ceremony held at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Concert Hall on 16 July 2018.

 

Consul General Antonio A. Morales delivers his remarks at the 2018 Rehearsal Camp Opening Ceremony of the Asian Youth Orchestra held at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Concert Hall on 16 July 2018.

 

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam delivers her speech and addresses the musicians as a patron at the 2018 Rehearsal Camp Opening Ceremony of the Asian Youth Orchestra held at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Concert Hall on 16 July 2018.
Consulate officials take a photo with the four members of this year’s Asian Youth Orchestra roster; (from left) Vice Consul Robert D Quintin, Joven Edward Aquisap (Viola), Alexis Constantino (Percussion), Marloe Kyril H. Maruyama (Double Bass), Leigh Cellano (Violin), Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza, and Vice Consul Fatima G. Quintin.