About Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra

Established in 1978, the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra (HKYCO) is one of the flagship music groups trained and managed by the Music Office. With members aged 25 and below, recruitment of the HKYCO is held through open audition in April every year.

Over the past four decades, the HKYCO has performed in major events such as the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Festival Fringe, the Hong Kong International Youth Arts Festival, and the "Music of the Dragons" concert in celebration of the 5th anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. They were invited to perform in the live broadcast "Caritas Charity TV Show" in 2014 and 2021, and the variety shows in celebration of the 66th and the 69th anniversaries of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2015 and 2018. These highly acclaimed performances were also joined by celebrities. The HKYCO celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2018 with the performance of a 90-member alumni orchestra, joined by renowned percussionist and Music Office alumnus Chin Kwok-wai, under the baton of Ho Man-chuen, former Music Officer of the Chinese Section of the Music Office.

The HKYCO has also played the role of music ambassador of Hong Kong and toured extensively, from neighbouring Macao to Malaysia, the UK, France, Australia, the USA, and Canada. Since 2000, the orchestra also toured to the Mainland and Taiwan. In 2000, the HKYCO visited Beijing and Xi'an on a concert performance and music exchange tour titled Tour to the Ancient Cities. In 2007, the orchestra participated in folk music festivals of Nanjing, Wuxi and Jiangyin in Jiangsu province and gave three well-received concerts in the festivals. The HKYCO made its Taiwan debut at the 2011 Contemporary Chinese Orchestra Festival in Taichung Changhua. The orchestra also performed in Shanghai and Shenyang music conservatories in 2016. In 2018, the orchestra embarked on an invited Singapore tour, in which they exchanged with local young musicians, and staged a highly acclaimed joint performance with the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra.

With a current membership of around 80-90, the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra is trained and managed by music officers of HKMO.