Text: Muneera Neelofar • Layout: Clara Gan
It was a splendid evening “CHESS”, Lao Shi and most
full of expressions, poise
and indisputable emotion.
Such was the quality of
music that the Symphony
Orchestra (NYPSO) delivered
to its audience of 1000 at the
auditorium. Having clinched
the Gold award at the 15th
World Music Contest, the
symphony orchestra never
fails to mesmerize its
audiences with its endearing
musical pieces.
A talented team of 115
young musicians and 40
alumni members were led
by their reputable conductor
Mr Luk Hoi Yui, who is also
affectionately addressed
as Lao Shi (teacher in
mandarin) by his students.
They promptly launched into
the first musical composition
“March of Meistersinger”
once they took the stage. Lao
Shi’s articulation was crisp
and his intonation was almost
flawless as the orchestra
performed Tchaikovsky’s
Swan Lake and other famous
pieces like Lord of the Ring
–Hobbit, Fly Me to the Moon,
Phantom of the Opera and
many others.
The main highlight and
surprising segment of
Sinfonia 2007 would be the
heartrending tribute that the
orchestra had prepared for
their Lao Shi, who would be
retiring from the orchestra
that evening. The rendition
that the orchestra played
exuded their love and feelings
towards their Lao Shi. Lao
Shi was moved to tears as he
was honored with bouquets
and tokens of appreciation
from the orchestra members.
Even while conducting
the next composition titled
CATCH_Grp6_01-13.indd 7
in 2008, to prepare ourselves
of the orchestra members
could be seen crying silently
as they performed.
It was truly and remarkably
a moment that touched the
hearts of many. The rendition
of CHESS was one that
was simply overwhelming,
poignant and very expressive.
Needless to say, they had
weaved a magical spell with
their music, melody and
passion.
Read on for an interview with
Sarah Jane, the President of
NYPSO.
CATCH!: When did the
Symphony Orchestra begin
the practice and rehearsals
for Sinfonia 2007? Tell us
more about the problems
that you and your members
encountered.
Sarah : The SO actually
began practicing for Sinfonia
since mid August, and since
the Orchestra is quite big in
size, we get problems such
as attendance, the difficulties
on getting the pieces right,
etc… Of course there is the big
problem on managing school
work and Orchestra time.
However, with each other’s
motivation, encouragement
and reminders, we managed
to overcome those difficulties!
The Symphony Orchestra
won the Gold award in 2005
at the 15th World Music
Contest in The Netherlands.
Are there any upcoming
competitions that the
Orchestra will be taking part?
Please tell us more about it.
Oh yes, the SO is arranging
for an overseas competition
methods.
for the upcoming 16th World
Music Competition in 2009.
The performance at Sinfonia
2007 was simply splendid
and captivating. Most of
the audiences were moved
and touched by it. How was
Symphony Orchestra able
to achieve this effect on the
audience?
Since Sinfonia 2007 was
our lao shi’s last concert, his
choice of songs went through
extreme considerations on
whether the Orchestra is able
to express the pieces and
move the audiences. The
Orchestra then went through
many amounts of vigorous
trainings in order to perfect
the piece. Together with our
Lao Shi’s warm guidance
and strong emphasis on
expressing the music, we
managed to create a concert
that was memorable for
everyone.
What is Lao Shi’s style of
coaching like?
Lao Shi’s style of coaching is
actually very much different
from the other conductors.
Lao Shi has decades of
experiences, and with that,
he is able to always break
the music down to allow us
to better picture the music so
that the audiences can enjoy.
Even his style of conducting
is full of expression and
from it, we were able to
understand what he wanted
us to play. He would only
scold when he thinks that you
are able to play but are not
playing as well as you should
be. It is undeniable that his
coaching is one of a kind, and
that we all loved his coaching
At Sinfonia 2007, the
orchestra dedicated a
segment of tribute to Lao Shi.
And I remember clearly that it
was a touching segment and
Lao Shi was surprised and
moved to tears. How did the
planning and co-ordination for
this segment take off without
Lao Shi knowing?
The tribute for Lao Shi was
something we were willing to
fork out extra time and effort
to practice. In order not to
let Lao Shi know about the
tribute, we had to put up an
additional practice time slot
on Mondays on top of normal
practice days just to work on
the piece. Announcements
were made with the piece
mentioned in a different
way, so that Lao Shi did not
suspect.
Tell us about some wonderful
memories and moments of
fun involving Lao shi and the
orchestra.
Some memorable
experiences would be Lao
Shi’s jokes while coaching,
his keen sense of spotting
“secret” relationships that
exists in the Orchestra, and
telling them that he knows
about it, oh and especially
on the day of his birthday
celebration, we all gathered
round him while he told us
stories of his younger days,
what he did and what were
his experiences like. It felt
warm, when everyone was
paying close attention to him,
listening to his interesting
stories. It was as if he was
a grandfather telling his
grandchildren.
12/10/2007 9:39:34 PM