Members\nof the University of Macau (UM) Moon Chun Memorial College (MCMC) on Tuesday 19\nApril performed at Her Majesty the Queen\u2019s 90th Birthday Party at the Macau\nTower, at the invitation of the British Consulate to Hong Kong and Macao.<\/p>\n\n
The\n90th Birthday celebration was a resounding success, due in no small part, to\nthe arresting opening of the event by MCMC members and the Macao Orchestra\nbrass section\u2019s performances of the Gordon Jacob arrangement and fanfare of the\nBritish national anthem, which was commissioned for the Coronation of Her\nMajesty Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. \n<\/p>\n\n
The\nMacao Orchestra brass section was conducted by Prof Kit Thompson. Meticulously\nreconstructing the music from fragments archived in the Black Watch Regiment\u2019s music\nlibrary, now under the auspices of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (HKAPA),\nProf Thompson described his quest as a fascinating and engaging labour of\nlove. <\/p>\n\n
The\nMCMC\u2019s Full Blue winner, Nelson Kong, a second-year student, acquitted himself\nwith due aplomb, playing timpani with the brass orchestra, like a true\nprofessional musician he is becoming.<\/p>\n\n
That\nstudents and professional musicians alike collaborated in such a high-profile\noccasion was a brave initiative and rare privilege indeed. They did Her Majesty\nproud. MCMC students benefited greatly from rehearsing and performing with two\nhighly acclaimed professional musicians, namely Michael Kirby, principal clarinet\nof the Macao Orchestra; and Leung Yan Chiu, a sheng (a traditional Chinese\ninstrument) player from the Macao Chinese Orchestra. <\/p>\n\n
Caroline\nWilson CMG, Her Majesty\u2019s consul general to Hong Kong and Macao, was delighted\nwith the musicians, as was Ms Chan Hoi Fan, the guest of honour and secretary\nfor administration and justice of the Macao SAR. <\/p>\n\n
A\n14-member ensemble of Chinese and Western orchestral instruments, conducted by Dr\nPatricia Thompson, premi\u00e8red a new arrangement of the song, \u2018Send Me a Rose\u2019,\nwhich is a Xinjiang folksong fused with tango rhythm. Eddy Tse, an HKAPA\ngraduate specialising in Chinese percussion, arranged the song especially for\nMCMC students to perform with the British consul general, and also for the MCMC\nFrench High Table on 23 April. <\/p>\n\n
As\nshown in the photographs below, Caroline Wilson plays the yangqin, and she has\nexpressed a keen wish to perform with MCMC\u2019s ensemble in the near future.<\/p>
Source: Moon Chun Memorial College
Media Contact Information:<\/p>
Communications Office, University of Macau<\/p>
Albee Lei Tel\uff1a(853) 88228004<\/p>
Kelvin U Tel\uff1a(853) 88224322<\/p>
Email\uff1aprs.media@um.edu.mo<\/p>
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