The Macao Orchestra 
2010-2011 Concert Season
Let’s welcome the eighth concert season of the Macao Orchestra!
In this new concert season, Music Director and Principal Conductor Lü Jia will present spectacular music in tandem with a number of famous artists from home and abroad, including world famous pianist and Gold Medal Winner of the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in 1986 Barry Douglas, internationally reputed Chinese cellist Wang Jian, young Korean-American violinist Sarah Chang, young Chinese violinist and Silver Prize Winner of the International Tchaikovsky Violin Competition 2002 Chen Xi and young Italian violinist Paulo Morena.
They will be joined by famous young Chinese pianist Zuo Zhang, Chinese soprano Wu Bixia, several rising singers and the trio constituted by the Associate Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Wong Sze-hang, Principal Cellist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Richard Bamping and Hong Kong pianist Warren Lee Wai On.
In addition, appearances will be made by a great number of high standard guest conductors - including Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Taiwan Philharmonic Orchestra Lü Shao-chia, Chinese conductor Wang Jin, Music Director of China’s Orchestra Academy at the Central Conservatory of Music Hu Yongyan, Director of the Shanghai Opera House Zhang Guoyong, young Venezuela conductor Jose Luis Gomez, and Australian violinist, conductor and Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra John Harding.
All of these high standard musicians and conductors will present their superb music in the Classic Series, Special Production Series and Festive Series. Moreover, the internationally renowned Taipei Philharmonic Chorus will once again perform in Macao. The upcoming concert season features stunning shows by numerous outstanding masters and popular musicians, and will surely add lustre to the music stage of Macao! At the same time, the two famous double concertos jointly performed by young Hong Kong cellist Trey Lee, Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra John Harding and Concertmaster of the Macao Orchestra Gu Chen are eagerly anticipated!
In this concert season, the Orchestra will pamper your ears with a myriad of fantastic masterpieces, including Bach's Double Violin Concerto in D Minor, Mozart's Symphony No.39 in E Flat Major, Beethoven's Symphony No.1 in C Major, Symphony No. 3 in E flat major entitled‘Eroica’ and Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Johannes Brahms’ all vocal-instrumental concerto, Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B Minor, Rachmaninoff's Symphony No.2 in E Minor, Shostakovich's Symphony No.1 in F Minor, Mahler's Symphony No.1 in D Major entitled‘Titan’, Bruckner's Symphony No.6 in A Major and Richard Strauss's Death and Transfiguration. The above classic symphonies will together lead audience to an exquisite and pleasant world of music!
The new series Music Journey into the Heritage Sites in this concert season is the first undertaking of this kind by the Macao Orchestra. It will certainly become one of the characteristics of the Macao Orchestra, and will distinguish it from all other professional orchestras. Three free concerts will take place at attractions in the Historic Centre of Macao - part of the world cultural heritage - in order to provide sightseeing visitors an opportunity to develop ‘intimate sentiments’ with world heritage sites in close proximity and experience in person Macao’s longstanding cultural essence and its continuity and inheritance. It cannot be more appealing and interesting to witness how music from ‘classical times’ meets world heritage architecture in ‘classical space’ and how active art ‘lends life’ to static art!
The Music Promotion Series, also first launched in this concert season, is a special programme designed for Macao residents, particularly successful people who wish to better understand classical music and enhance their personal sense of the artistic. In addition to an outstanding and thorough interpretation of familiar masterpieces featuring the colourfulness and kaleidoscopic variations of music, one may also explore the mystery of classical music in the realisation that classical music is in fact relaxed and pleasant enough for audiences of all ages!
The Opera Series is another highlight of this concert season. The four-act opera Il Trovatore by the great Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, penned at his peak, and the classic three-act Dido and Aeneas written by Englishman Henry Purcell during the Baroque period will be staged at the Macau International Music Festival! The opera Il Trovatore directed by Lu Jia - acclaimed as a director who ‘knows Italian opera better than Italians’ - should not be missed for it will surely become a rare cultural event in the Asian region because of its pure and elegant style and stunning performance.
The Chamber Music Series has been well supported and admired by music lovers in Macao. The Chamber Music Series includes five music concerts, including Mozart the Genius, Pride of Astro-German, Adventurous and Experimental, Modern Exoticism, and Romance on Strings. Different styles of works created during different eras by different nations reflect the thoughts and hopes of the composers in the course of different situations as if they are unveiling the most sincere feelings from deep within their hearts through music. The shows will surely bring you unforgettable memories!
It is also worth noting that in this concert season the 22nd Macao Arts Festival will feature local works - and even the world premier of works - by various Chinese composers, which include commission works by famous composer Ye Xiaogang and the Macao Orchestra’s composer-in-residence Lam Bun-ching, in addition to the latest works by famous Chinese composer Doming Lam and internationally renowned American-Chinese composer Bright Sheng.
The Educational Series is a regular Orchestra programme which has not only been widely popular for years but symbolises the exceptionally gifted nurturing environment of Macao teenagers. On the basis of performances widely known by students and teachers - such as Journey into the World of Music, Flourishing Arts and Open Air Concert and University Concert - the Orchestra will continually add new works and updated information so that the new generation, while artistically nurtured by joyful music, can develop more interests in the field and uncover more talents by participating in performance rehearsals, thus creating new artistic sentiments in this fertile soil of diverse culture, laying ample resources for Macao’s further cultural development!
In this brand new concert season, the Macao Orchestra will surely enrich and add colour to your life!