'An Enchanting Evening With Lang Lang' Fundraising Dinner Will Be Held In Support Of The HK Phil's Long Term Development

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) held "An Enchanting Evening with Lang Lang Fundraising Dinner" on 17 January 2020 (Friday) at the Salisbury Room of The Peninsula Hong Kong. It is with great honour to have the star of the night, world renowned pianist Lang Lang, together with his wife (Ms Gina Alice Redlinger), joining as our distinguished guests at the Dinner, with the presence of Maestro Jaap van Zweden, the HK Phil's Music Director and Conductor of the concerts with Lang Lang. A total of HK$3.4 million was raised at the Dinner in supporting the future development of the HK Phil.

Distinguished guests (in alphabetical order of family name) who joined the Dinner included Dinner Organising Committee Members: Honorary Advisor Mrs Janice Choi, BBS, MH, JP, Committee Chair Ms Jin Ling, Committee Co-Chairs Ms Shirley Jin (Title Sponsor, President of Maggie & Rose The Family Members' Club, Greater China) and Ms Monica Cheung and PR Advisor Ms Cherry Cheung; and socialites: Mr Boby Chan, Ms Shirley Chan, Ms Sonia Cheng, Ms Kathy Chiu, Lady Athena Hung, Mrs Sophia Kao-Lo, Mrs Regina Leung, Ms Emma Sherrard Matthew, Ms Gina Alice Redlinger (Lang Lang's wife), Ms Jenny Tam, Mr and Mrs Deputy Commissioner Yang Yirui and Music Director Maestro Jaap van Zweden.

The HK Phil endeavours to present the finest music to audiences in Hong Kong and around the world. Under the leadership of Music Director Maestro Jaap van Zweden, the HK Phil was named Orchestra of the Year at the 2019 Gramophone Classical Music Awards ceremony for the remarkable live recordings of the complete Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner on the Naxos Label. This year is the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, the HK Phil proudly presents two concerts with pianist Lang Lang, conducted by Maestro van Zweden, to kick off the HK Phil's celebratory "Beethoven 250th" series.

The theme of the Dinner was "the Power of Music". Chaired by also a fundraising committee member of the HK Phil, Ms. Jin Ling, famous auctioneer and entrepreneur in town, invited her good friends Ms Shirley Jin and Ms Monica Cheung as co-chairs of the dinner. The HK Phil gratefully acknowledges the title sponsorship from Maggie & Rose The Family Members' Club, the many individuals and also companies that attended the Dinner, financially supported it, and donated items for auction to make the event a great success.

During the dinner, the HK Phil supporter Mr Malcolm Mok presented guests with a wonderful yet touching performance of Chopin's Revolutionary Etude. Diagnosed as autistic when he was a toddler, Malcolm overcame all difficulties and found confidence and happiness in music. His heartfelt performance demonstrated the life-changing power that music has worked on him, moving many audiences to tears.

The HK Phil was also grateful for the precious presence of superstar pianist Lang Lang who came with his wife Gina Alice Redlinger and his mother. Lang Lang had not stopped surprising the guests by first joining the sign language movement on-stage with Maestro van Zweden and the Organising Committee Members, expressing the slogan of the evening "Music Changes Life, Music Changes the World". He even donated a surprise auction item in order to help raising more funds which is an opportunity to have an exclusive lunch with him with a personal tutorial. The precious opportunity stirred up the atmosphere of the ballroom inviting a pleasantly vigorous competition among parents. To render appreciation to the support of the dinner guests, Lang Lang offered an additional "four-hand" performance with his pianist wife Gina. The newly-wed played a traditional Chinese melodic piano duet "Colourful Clouds" to conclude the evening.

Board and Committee members who joined the Dinner included Vice-Chair of Board of Governors Mrs Janice Choi, BBS, MH, JP, Board member Mr Edward Ng and Fundraising Committee members Ms Jin Ling and Ms Cherry Cheung.

The title sponsor of "An Enchanting Evening with Lang Lang Dinner" was Maggie & Rose The Family Members' Club.

The HK Phil would like to give its heartfelt thanks to the following Dinner Organising Committee Members:

Honorary Adviser:
Mrs Janice Choi, BBS, MH, JP
Committee Chair:
Ms Jin Ling
Committee Co-Chairs:
Ms Shirley Jin and Ms Monica Cheung
PR Advisor:
Ms Cherry Cheung