‘Something new’: City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong’s first 20 years, and what’s next – more CDs, musicals and tours
- Known for its innovative programming, the ensemble founded by Leanne Nicholls is a Hong Kong institution now, after years of hard work making it sustainable
- With a new chief conductor, and plans for more musicals following the success of its Bug Symphony for children, the ensemble is looking ahead to its next decade
Monday will mark the beginning of a new era for the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) – its first concert under new chief conductor Vahan Mardirossian and the first in its 20th anniversary season.
Previously a guest conductor with the orchestra in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Mardirossian will conduct a programme featuring Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin with soloist Akiko Suwanai, Sibelius’ Andante Festivo, and Poulenc’s Sinfonietta.
“He’s the Leonard Bernstein of Armenia,” says CCOHK founder, artistic director and principal oboist Leanne Nicholls of Mardirossian. “He’s a virtuoso pianist and can [simultaneously] conduct very well and play the piano at that high a level. I think he will bring something absolutely inspiring to the orchestra and to Hong Kong.”
Two decades after its founding, the orchestra is a Hong Kong institution with a growing international reputation.
The priority for first 10 years, Nicholls says, was getting the orchestra established on a sustainable footing. In its second decade, the ensemble has been able to spread its wings – literally, in the case of its musical for children, Bug Symphony , which some members of the orchestra perform in costume as flying insects. The production won the public choice award at the YAMawards in Portugal two years ago.
