In organising a second round of the popularity poll Chinese Music Select, which invites music lovers to vote for their favourite Chinese music, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra is proving something other than 'just another concert activity'. Although the title Chinese Music Select 1997 - 2007 focuses on the 'ten year' time frame, the activity bodes a much wider context, one that indicates the macro development of social culture, changing tastes in music, the evolution of the music industry chain, changes in cultural consumerism and aesthetic values etc.. In the same vein, it has taken the Orchestra - the only professional Chinese orchestra in Hong Kong and the largest in scale - more than ten years to win the high esteem and international renown that it now enjoys, and even much longer time to build the firm foundation on which it stands.

This article is the joint effort of Yan Huichang, who is at the helm of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, and the writer, who has been closely following the Orchestra's developments since its early years. With Yan providing an insider's view, and I, that of an outsider, the two of us are able to track the 'ten initiatives' that contribute to the fruitful returns of today.

To enumerate, we must admit 'corporatisation' (Initiative No.1) marked the turning point in the Orchestra's career track. The corporatisation move 'freed' the Orchestra from the governmental framework of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, and gave it room for galvanizing its roadmap for development. But this was at a price, of course. As a government-subsidized, non-profitmaking organisation, the Orchestra had to place financial concerns much higher on its agenda. The restructuring also caused jitters among the orchestral members and led to many teething problems in the early days of its incorporation.

Under the circumstances, the Orchestra launched a series of 'consolidation' measures (Initiative No. 2) to keep up the morale. To enhance internal communication, the Management carried out major changes, such as the delegation of duties and distribution of key roles. A Section Leader was created for each of the four categories of wind, plucked-strings, bowed-strings and percussion instruments. They were to share the administration work and serve as a channel to gather opinions and convey them to the Management. This, together with the existing set-up of advisers, became a useful resource and 'think tank' for the Music Director in terms of programming.

It was only when a running system was in place and an ethos for team work arose could the Orchestra be on its way to becoming a 'world class orchestra', or could its artistic direction of 'bringing Chinese music to the world' (Initiative No. 3) be achieved. The fact is, in the eight short years after the Orchestra was incorporated, it has already gone on close to fifty tours, performing in many cities in China and many parts of the world. Its impressive performances have not only made it a cultural ambassador of Hong Kong, but also firmly placed Chinese orchestral music in the international arena. By demonstrating the rich variety of the genre, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra has redefined the term 'Chinese music' for the international music world and its audiences.

With its eye on the world and following its many touring performances, it was logical to make 'cross-culture programming' its next move (Initiative No. 4). For this, the Orchestra has achieved reasonable success. This included working with ensembles and orchestras of different cultural backgrounds (such as the percussion groups of Japan, Korea and Latin America) and renowned soloists (such as Yo Yo Ma) on the concert stage. This is also reflected in the growing number of works by foreign composers written specially for the Orchestra.

While such 'cross-culturalization' might be attributed to the macro globalization trend, it was also partly the result of the Orchestra's 'diversification' moves (Initiative No. 5). They included the setting up of the Folk Music Ensemble, the Ensemble Section and the Chamber Music Group (A & B), the persistent inclusion of regional traditional music genres in its concerts (such as Cantonese music, Jiangnan Sizhu, etc.) and the presentation of concert series under different themes, such as The Distinguished series that forms the core of each season, the Music from the Heart series that serves as a platform for the Orchestra's very own multitalented musicians, The Music World series that provides an international perspective for the audience, the Hong Kong Composers series that gives local composers the spotlight that is due, as well as a series devoted to the younger artists of the Orchestra.

Within the colourful spectrum of programmes, perhaps the most appealing to the community should be those that are organised to involve the public, one with a 'festivity approach' (Initiative No. 6), such as the Hong Kong Huqin Festival, the Hong Kong Drum Festival, the Hong Kong Dizi and Xiao Festival, the Hong Kong Dulcimer Festival, the Hong Kong Zheng Festival etc.. Their phenomenal success drew the attention of the music world in China and other parts of the world, and some of them have become a regular community event in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Synergy 24 Drum Competition is one good example.

But in reaching out to the world, the Orchestra has never forgotten its home base. Another programming initiative is 'community outreach' (Initiative No. 7). Regular and numerous outreach concerts brought the Orchestra to various parts of Hong Kong and touched the lives of all sectors of the community. There were also concerts with pop singers, those for the family, for Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, as well as the 'HKCO & Friends' concerts, all designed for popular appeal.

The diverse programming needs marketing strategies that work in tandem. Considerations for consumer behaviour, such as seasonal regularity and systematic grouping, led to the 'serialized approach' (Initiative No. 8). The serialized grouping provided convenience in planning and variety of choice for the consumer, and reinforced the branding of the Orchestra. Results of this approach are promising.

The setting up of the Instrument Study Group and the creation of a Research & Development Officer (Musical Instrument) marked a milestone in the Orchestra's efforts in its 'improvement measures' (Initiative No. 9). It was a move to achieve the Orchestra's long-term goal to create the best in orchestral sound. Years of research and experimentation had finally borne fruit - the traditional python skin on the huqin is now replaced by a PET membrane. It was a breakthrough both in terms of ecological concerns and technological standardization of tone colour and tone quality. The improved instruments produced rich, full-bodied and brilliant tones that could be maintained when they were taken on tour, to different parts of the world where temperature and humidity changes would have affected their python-skin-mounted predecessors. Such stableness of performance is the cornerstone for any 'world-class' orchestra, and this technological advancement paved the way to success for the Orchestra. Apart from investing resources in improving the instruments, the Orchestra has also been taking an academic approach in putting theory to practice. This is seen in the many symposia it organised over the years. Experts from various parts of the world were invited to attend, and the discussions, views and papers were compiled and published as useful compendiums of relevant information and important references for practitioners in Chinese music.

These improvement measures were one way to help the 'tree' of the HKCO to grow; yet the administrators of the Orchestra have never overlooked the importance of 'strengthening roots' (Initiative No. 10). Such measures included the setting up of the Education Department, the establishment of the Hong Kong Children Chinese Orchestra and the Hong Kong Junior Chinese Orchestra in 2003, the offering of instrument classes, the partnership programme with the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and various educational activities which all come together as investments on expanding the future audience base for the Orchestra.

The ten initiatives in the past ten years are close links in a development chain that underpins the work done in the previous two decades. They provide an ever-growing thrust for the Orchestra to move forward and reach higher in the next and fourth decade of its history.