Yours Truly

The night draws to a close. Tonight's performance at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre was one of zest, flourish, and fervor.

The persistent and wonderful cheers finally subsiding, Maestro Pontzious takes the microphone in hand. He pauses a little, then, "This is your AYO," he tells the audience from the stage as showers of applause rise in a crescendo again.

Photo credit: Yu Sun

Tonight was the second of the two concerts in Hong Kong. It was the orchestra's last evening here and was a special gift, featuring violinist Sarah Chang as soloist and the conductor whom the late Yehudi Menuhin convinced 27 years ago should take the orchestra's baton.

It was a gift filled with appreciation for all who gave AYO the privilege to call Hong Kong its home.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Showers

Image
A typhoon warning sent the stage team and the orchestra scrambling - a decision was made moments ago, to move up tonight's evening concert to the afternoon. But be it five hours earlier than plan, the team  was immediately at work, setting the stage like clockwork. A fully spirited orchestra was ready, on stage at 2:30 p.m. How about the weather's impact on audience attendance? The fact is no thunder or storm will ever match the enthusiasm that the people of Chiayi have showered on the AYO. In no time, crowds filled the concert hall of the Chiayi Cultural Centre. Today was a dress-down concert due to the last-minute changes causing adrenaline to rush. Our orchestra members donned their red polo shirts, not their formal ensemble attire. They looked nicely fired up to play. Then, Mr. Pontzious walked out on stage holding an umbrella over his head. Roars of laughter echoed throughout the hall. All the excitement of the afternoon deserved a special encore to close. Ma...
Keep reading

Final Curtain Falls

Image
The AYO 2017 World Tour has come to a close. The final city, host of our last concert, was Brussels, Belgium. At the BOZAR Theatre, our performance under Mr. Pontzious with soloist Sarah Chang was spectacular with all hearts, on stage and off, fusing into one. The standing ovations throughout the hall were enthusiastic and seemed to continue forever. Before going on stage, Mr. Pontzious had a special reminder for us. "Look how far we have come," he said. Only two months ago, we had first arrived at Rehearsal Camp, meeting for the first time with our faculty members and playing our first few notes together. It was a new experience for most, each bringing with us different backgrounds, each appearing to be so different from another. We were unsure of left or right, with circumstances leaving us excited but in awe of what was to come next. And since then? "The orchestra now walks on stage with confidence." First arriving in Chiayi City 2 months ago Ou...
Keep reading

See You Again

Image
Yílù píng'ān. "Have a safe journey," the airport ushers and security officers at the Kaohsiung International Airport tell us as we head to board our plane. We said goodbye to our favourite place in Taiwan this morning. We will never forget your kindness and warmth. What a frantic two weeks it has been. Now, as we arrive and settle into our hotel after flying from Kaohsiung to Hong Kong, we look forward to a brand new week of rehearsals. See you again in Chinese is  zàijiàn , so  zàijiàn , Chiayi City. We will see you very soon when we return for our concert on July 29th. For now, here we are, Hong Kong. Hello, Hong Kong
Keep reading