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Classical Music - Musicians
of All Saints
Chinese conductor Wai Sing Fat will debut with the
Musicians of All Saints (MAS) on Saturday when he opens their
2006-2007 season, which they’ve called ‘The Chinese
Year.’ Wai Sing Fat has conducted orchestras in Hong
Kong, the Czech Republic, China, England, Australia and throughout
the Pacific Rim. Shirley Edwards from MAS told us “this
concert is the first in a unique event for British orchestras
- a year’s season in which every concert will include
a work of Chinese music.” Saturday’s programme
will include a work inspired by a 19th Century wax disk recording
of a street musician playing the melody Hua Yanjun - “The
Water Reflecting the Moon in Erquan”. This now-famous
melody has been arranged for orchestra by Wu Zhu Chang. The
concert will also contain works by Elgar and Stravinsky. A
Chinese chamber group was supposed to accompany Wai Sing Fat,
but earlier this week they had to pull out for economic reasons.
Although this is a blow for the orchestra, Mr Wai will instead
demonstrate some Chinese instruments including the erhu (Chinese
violin) and the dizi.
MAS provide regular concerts featuring a wide variety of composers,
both classical and modern. It prides itself on its repertoire
which covers both well known works from famous writers and
challenging new pieces, some of which are receiving their
first airing. One international soloist who worked with the
orchestra has called them the “South East’s best
kept musical secret”. The secret’s out. KA
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