The Pro-Musica Society of Hong Kong

The Pro-Musica Society of Hong Kong was founded in August 1970 by Mr. Francis Chung, the first music director. Its members are music lovers from a wide range of occupations and professions. The Chorus has been constantly exposed to the direction of many renowned conductors including Moses Wu, Paul Tsang, Jimmy Chan, Kiang Tsi-Liang, Chu Siu-Wah, Geoffrey Weaver, Raymond Fu, Anne Cheng, Daniel Law, Li Chau-Yuan, Tseng Dau-Hsiong, Richard Tsang, and Lee Kin-Chun.

Between 1977-1991, the Pro-Musica Chorus participated in and provided the supporting soloists for the former Urban Council’s annual productions of major western operas, including “Madam Butterfly”, “Tosca”, “Cavalleria Rusticana”, “I Pagliacci”, “Don Pasquale”, “La Boheme”, “Rigoletto”, “Aida”, “Maria Stuarda”, “Il Trovatore”, “Norma”, “Turandot”, and “Les Contes D’Hoffmann”. In 1982, the Chorus was invited to perform with a group of principal singers from the Metropolitan Opera of New York to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the City Hall. In 1991, the Chorus was invited to participate in the performance of “Aida in Hong Kong (World Tour)”.

Apart from opera performances, the Chorus often presents choral concerts with the aim to introduce to the Hong Kong audience substantial choral works by famous composers, such as Chen Tien Hoh’s “Parting at Ho Lang”, Lasso’s “Missa Quniti Toni”, Gabriel Faure’s “Requiem”, Mozart’s “Requiem”, Jin Xiang’s “The Book of Songs” & Verdi’s “Four Sacred Pieces”, Rossini’s “Messe Solennelle”, Vivaldi’s “Gloria”, Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9” in 1996, Richard Tsang’s “Lux Aeterna”, excerpts from Handel’s Messiah, and Rutter’s “Requiem”, all of which received high critical acclaim.

In the areas of cultural exchange, the Pro-Musica often performs with other choral and art groups with a view to broadening its experience in different realms and at different levels of the choral art. The Chorus was invited by the Hong Kong Arts Exchange Centre in 1994 to a musical expedition to give three performances in Vienna. The Chorus was invited to the Regional Council Festival’s major production “The Red Detachment of Women” – a full length ballet by Central Ballet of China – as the supporting chorus in 1994 and again in 1997. The Chorus joined the Hong Kong Medical Association Orchestra’s charity concerts presenting Beethoven’s “Symphony No 9” in 1996 and in 1998. The Pro-Musica appeared in RTHK Radio 4’s production “A Choral Showcase” in 2001 and “Ode to Life” CD in 2003. The Chorus performed Mahler’s “Symphony No 2” in 2003 and “Symphony No 8” in 2006 with SAR Philharmonic Orchestra to raise fund for the Youth Outreach and the Prince of Peace Charity Foundation. In 2007 and 2008, the Chorus was invited by the Hong Kong Oratorio Society to perform Verdi’s “Requiem”, Rossini’s “Stabat Mater” and Brucker’s “Te Deum”. The Chorus also performed with the China Radio Philharmonic Chorus in Beijing, the Shanxi Province Orchestra Chorus in Xian, the Art College of Jimei University and the Aixin Choir of Qianpu Hospital in Xiamen respectively in 2004, 2005 and 2008.

The past ten years see the Chorus frequent appearing in choral performances presented by LCSD at the district level with a view to popularizing this art form to the Hong Kong public.