The 2024 Youth Music Culture The Greater Bay Area Concludes at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre

The 2024 Youth Music Culture The Greater Bay Area reached a successful conclusion on Jan. 31 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. YMCG was founded in 2017 and is held every year. The event was upgraded from Guangdong to the Greater Bay Area in 2023.

The 84 young musicians of the 2024 YMCG Orchestra were selected from 70 renowned music schools in China, Europe, America, and Asia, and nearly 20 Chinese professional orchestras. Internationally-renowned conductor Daniel Harding, who will serve as the music director for the five YMCG events from 2024 to 2028, and the faculty team led the young musicians on a fruitful weeklong artistic journey from Jan. 20 to Feb. 1. The YMCG faculty team includes principal players from the world's top orchestras, such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestra.

Between 2017 and 2023, hundreds of young musicians, from 59 cities in 21 countries, participated in YMCG, including students from leading international music schools, such as Harvard University, Yale School of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. Many have since held positions in renowned orchestras and conservatories, or won prizes at international music competitions. Liu Ming served as the concertmaster of the YMCG Orchestra and is now the concertmaster of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

YMCG is an excellent platform to promote the creation, dissemination, and promotion of musical excellence. In Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra commissioned Hong Kong composer Elliot Leung to write Aureate Skylines, a new work for the 2024 YMCG. At the opening concert, composer Zhou Tian's Metropolis, also commissioned by the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, gave the audience vivid insight into the development and progress of Guangzhou, the Greater Bay Area, and China.

During the 2024 YMCG, the young musicians and faculty members held several concerts, talks and master classes. They also visited several cultural and tourist landmarks in the Greater Bay Area - including the Cantonese Opera Museum, the Guangdong Museum, and the Canton Tower - for public performances and to learn about Guangdong culture. With these activities, based around the city's cultural and tourism landmarks, the 2024 YMCG creatively fused music with culture and tourism - "with culture to promote tourism, and tourism to recognize culture."