Established and directed by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), and with the support of the Swire Group as Founding Patron, the Greater Bay Area Youth Orchestra (GBAYO) aspires to be one of the finest youth orchestras in the world. It aims to provide a platform for the highest standard of classical orchestral performance in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) by offering professional training and coaching by world-class musicians to talented young musicians across the region. The GBAYO 2023 season will inaugurate with a training camp and concert tour, which are now open for applications. Classical musicians aged 16 to 24, who were either born, graduated, are living, studying or working in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are welcome to submit their applications.
GBAYO training camp will be held from July 31 to August 16, 2023 in Hong Kong, which will include sectional and full orchestra rehearsals, masterclasses, cross-disciplinary workshops, and cultural visits. GBAYO 2023 season will conclude with a concert tour in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Macau.
GBAYO will be conducted by Professor Sharon Choa, Head of Conducting and Cultural Leadership of HKAPA, with Professor Yiu Song-lam, Head of Woodwind, Brass and Percussion of HKAPA as the artistic coordinator. During the two-week rehearsal, GBAYO members will learn from the professors and musicians from HKAPA and world-class orchestra. Apart from gaining professional performance experience by touring performances, members will have opportunities to connect with young talented musicians in the GBA, build personal network, and broaden their horizons in a unique and multicultural environment for music performance and cultural exchange, which will facilitate their career development in the classical music field.
Audition panel composed of professors and renowned musicians from HKAPA, Xinghai Conservatory of Music, Macao Youth Symphony Orchestra, will decide the finalist and waiting list based on the audition videos received. Accommodation, cross-border transportation, and tuition during training camp and concert tour are free of charge. Please refer to https://hkapa.edu/music/gbayo for application details and audition requirements. The application and video submission deadlines are March 8 and March 31, respectively.
The GBAYO was first announced in July 2022 as a pioneering youth initiative to foster cultural exchange in the GBA. The Swire Group is the Founding Patron of the orchestra.
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (www.hkapa.edu)
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), established by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Ordinance in 1984, is a leading tertiary institution in the performing arts in Asia. It provides professional undergraduate education and practice-based postgraduate studies. The study encompasses Chinese Opera, Dance, Drama, Film and Television, Music, and Theatre and Entertainment Arts. Its educational philosophy reflects the cultural diversity of Hong Kong with emphasis on Chinese and Western traditions, and interdisciplinary learning. Since 2008, the Academy has attained the Programme Area Accreditation (PAA) status awarded by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) to self-monitor and accredit its own Undergraduate and Post-secondary programmes in the five programme areas of Dance, Drama, Film and Television, Music, and Theatre and Entertainment Arts. Since 2016, the PAA status has been extended to cover Master’s Degree programmes and below. The programmes operated by the School of Chinese Opera are accredited by HKCAAVQ for recognition under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework. Besides the main campus in Wanchai, Béthanie, the site of the Academy’s Landmark Heritage Campus in Pokfulam, has housed training facilities for the School of Film and Television since 2006. In the QS World University Rankings announced in 2022, the Academy is ranked 1st in Asia and 10th in the world in the Performing Arts category.