Corporate Communication In Hkpo

COM5550

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

Final Project

Case Analysis:

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

18 December 2007

About Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

The First Professional Orchestra in HK

11th January 1974, in the Concert Hall, City Hall, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HKPO) had had its very first performance after it had turned into the only professional orchestra at the time. The concert attracted the Governor Sir Crawford Murray Maclehose, government officials and lots of young audiences. The concert was concluded with great success under the baton of Conductor LIM Kek-tjiang (林克昌), who was also the Artistic Director at the time. With the great success of the concert, which made the people in Hong Kong, especially the Government, to realize the importance of having a professional orchestra in Hong Kong for its cultural development.

With the passion and talents of LIM, the Orchestra made excellent achievements with rapidly growing standard. The professionalism of the Orchestra has been successfully established for more than 30 years up to present. The missions of the Orchestra are to bring classical music into the general public, aim at the highest possible performance standard and promote Hong Kong as a city with a rich and vibrant cultural life.

In the last three decades, HKPO has all along been a public-funded organization sponsored by the Government.

Ups and Downs

Over the last 33 years, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra has come across counltless ups and downs, each and every one of them brought either positve or negative impact to the Orchestra.

Every organization would have its own problems, Hong Kong Philharmonic is certainly not excepted. When it had just turned into a professional orchestra, it faced two great problems which endangered its survival. Firstly, many players quitted the orchestra as they had their own full-time jobs which made them impossible to become full-time musicians of the Orchestra; secondly, the unhappy relationship between the Conductor LIM and the players and the management board. The relationship remained tense and there were rumours which affected the players badly. The relationship problem finally ended with the sudden resignation of LIM with unknown reason.

All along, relationships between the conductors and the players have been a serious problem in the Orchestra. Besides LIM, there were other conductors who had problems in working with the Orchestra players, they were female conductors Helen QUACH (郭美貞) and YIP Wing-sie (葉詠詩), also Mr Samuel WONG (黃大德), etc. Certainly, the music standard fluctuates or even deteriorates under the unhappy environment filled with discriminations, conflicts and distrusts.

Players is also another issue to the Orchestra. Regardless of the quality and talents in music of the players, conflicts of personalities are also problematic. Although quality musicians should have their own personalities and self-confidence, these features affect interpersonal communication in great extent. Moreover, as there is a mix of nationalities among the players in the Orchestra, cultural difference is a great barrier for communication betweem them. Players are easy to quit when the working environment is unfavourable. They are employed in contract terms and it is another challenge to build up their loyalty and motivation in working with the Orchestra's great missions and visions other than music playing.

Regardless of the bad memories and problems, the Orchestra has made great achievements which brought it international reputation. Now, the Orchestra stands as the top professional orchestra in Hong Kong and it has already become one of the Asia's top orchestras as well.

With its reputation, it has brought great music to Hong Kong people by inviting and playing on the same stage with enormous numbers of world-class musicians and artists from all over the world. Such as violinists Itzhank Perlman, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Joshua Bell; celloists Yo-Yo Ma and Wang Jian; pianists Emanuel Ax, Yundi Li and Lang Lang; flautist Pahud; vocalists Renйe Fleming and He Hui; er-hu master Wong On-yeun, etc. Besides playing masterpieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler and Mendelssohn and the other great symphonic music composers, the Orchestra also plays in Operas such as Madama Butterfly, Aida, Salome, Der Rosenkavalier; and joint performance with London Philharmonic Choir, and other instruments and groups beyond traditional symphonic orchestral music.

Over the years, the Ochestra has brought a wide range of music to the audiences in Hong Kong and it is emerging as a world-class orchestra. It touches more than 200,000 music lovers every year through over 150 performances.

HKPO Today

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra has grown into an awesome ensemble of Chinese and talents from all over the world in the last three decades, attracting world-class musicians and artists to perform on the same stage with the Orchestra.

There are significant changes of the Orchestra in recent years upon the appointment of the internationally renowned Maestro Edo de Waart as the Artisitc Director and Chief Conductor in the Season 04/05. Under the baton of the Maestro, HKPO has reached new heights of artistic excellence. Also, with the fame and frequent appearance in media of Edo de Waart, the Orchestra has increased exposure in the public. It brings the Orchestra closer to the general public and create a rather casual and friendly image. The Orchestra performs not only in the concert halls and theatres, but also at schools, prison and outdoor stages. All of these have facilitated the spreading of classical music in the general public.

The Orchestra has built a very good relationship with the sponsors in private sectors. In April 2006, the Swire Group Charitable Trust became the HKPO's Principal Patron, committing HK$36 million over three years. It is the largest sponsorship in the Orchestra history. Besides the Swire Group, there are other sponsors like Bank of China, Tom Lee Music, Parsons Music, Goldman Sachs, Sino Group and Sun Hung Kai Wealth Management Limited, etc.

With the great financial support, Maestro de Waart's artistic visions