“A concert with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta seems vastly different than that of its internationally better-known counterpart, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra,” writes Joyce Lau in Wednesday’s (12/21) New York Times. “It starts with its music director, Yip Wing-sie, stepping onto an empty stage in a black suit … and chatting with the audience in English and Cantonese…. Yip, 56 and a ‘Hong Kong girl,’ as she calls herself, is a well-loved figure after almost 15 years leading the Sinfonietta…. Ms. Yip … received her master’s from Indiana University at Bloomington. ‘In my class, in 1983, there were no female orchestral conductors, and just two choral conductors,’ she said…. ‘It is very rare to have a music director who is female … After all, this woman is not just a musician. She’s the boss, standing on a podium.’ … When [Yip] took over as the music director of the Sinfonietta, it had turned professional only three years before.… Today, the Sinfonietta’s players are full-time paid professionals…. Her next goal is to push the Sinfonietta to even greater heights, with more overseas tours, more commissioned contemporary works and more ambitious programming.”
Posted December 22, 2016
