“Their (Pro Arte’s) professional attitude towards performance, and passionate zeal for music are exemplary...” ConcertoNet.com

A Wondrous Musical Journey for Serious Young Musicians

Pro Arte Orchestra of Hong Kong is a registered charitable organization (IRD Ref No. 91/9498) that is committed to providing a far-reaching orchestral training for musicians under the age of 25. Pro Arte's alumni have been accepted to professional orchestras, famous music schools world-wide (such as undergraduate or graduate programs of the Indiana University Jacob School of Music in the USA, Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Munchen in Germany, Royal Northern College of Music in the UK, the Boston Conservatory and the University of Cincinnati in the USA) as well as international music festivals (such as the renowned Youtube Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Grammy Award-winning conductor Michael Tilson Thomas).

Under the baton of Music Director Ho-man Choi, the musical ambitions of serious young musicians will be inspired. The emphasis on high quality productions of orchestral repertoires will enrich the musical experience of these young musicians to develop in them artistic excellence and creativity.

Tuition and Scholarships

To ensure that no deserving candidate is prevented from attending for financial reasons, all participants are enrolled on merit-based, full-tuition scholarships which are renewable at the end of the season upon successful re-audition.

The orchestra is grateful for the generous support of those individuals and businesses that have enabled us not only to perform in various concert halls in Hong Kong, but also, for example, to undertake our most memorable South China tour last season. With Music Director Maestro Ho-man Choi and its principal players as representatives, Pro Arte has appeared, for example, in the South China Morning Post, Ming Pao and Ta Kung Pao, as well as on RTHK Radio Four and Metro Finance Radio.

Artistic Profile and Character Building

Last April, the orchestra took a huge step forward artistically by collaborating with renowned Korean Soprano In-hye Kim to perform the complete symphony of Mahler 4, which is a daunting challenge even for professional orchestras. After devoting hours to overcome the challenges of technical fluency, musical understanding, stamina, size of orchestra as well as life experience, the performance was received with tumultuous applause by the audience, among whom was the General Consulate of Korea, and the concert was reviewed by the major Korean press Yonhap News Agency titled "a tour de force". Pro Arte's musicians have collaborated with international artists such as Edward Auer (the First American prize-winner of the prestigious International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw), Geoffrey Simon (London based conductor who has conducted, amongst others, the London Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra) and Edmund Cord (Former Principal Trumpet of the world-class Israel Philharmonic). In 2009, the orchestra was selected to accompany the internationally-famous popular operatic quartet IL DIVO. Leading the way in support and promotion of contemporary music in 2008, the orchestra had the honor of hosting the third stop of the world premiere tour of Cala Tuent by Australian composer Barry Conyngham, alongside professional orchestras such as the Queensland Orchestra.

The orchestra's unique “character building program” is not simply training musicians, but musicians with a positive character, which is important for their personal development and success.