The SAR Philharmonic

The SAR Philharmonic Orchestra has a simple goal: Helping to lessen suffering through Sweet And Romantic music. This is mostly carried out by presenting concerts for fund raising by other charitable organizations.

The SAR Philharmonic Orchestra is the musical arm of the SAR Philharmonic Charitable Foundation Limited, a Hong Kong Government registered Charitable Foundation. The orchestra performs several concerts a year and since the first concert in 1999 over $60 million have been raised for local charities.

Orchestra members are dedicated volunteers who give their services freely – thus maximizing the financial benefits for the recipient charity. The orchestra boasts over 100 members and presents ambitious programs for full symphony orchestra. Under the baton of our Music Director K. K. Chiu, we have performed some 160 concerts including the complete symphonic cycle of Gustav Mahler.

The SAR Philharmonic Orchestra enjoys a strong reputation in Hong Kong’s musical community and also cultivates a love of music among children. The Classics for Kids concerts are extremely popular with parents and children alike, including very young children normally excluded from concert halls. At the same time these concerts raise more money to help us support music scholarships and other worthy causes.

The SAR Philharmonic Orchestra has further expanded its outreach into the community by supporting music education in schools through collaborative concerts, where students play alongside our experienced players and receive mentorship during rehearsals.

In July 2023, our orchestra had a very successful inaugural 10 day concert tour in Germany. Orchestral members travelled at their own expense to play in 3 concerts, partnering with two German community orchestras - Lufoniker BASF orchestra in Ludwigshafen and Auftakt Orchestra in Heidelberg, and raised funds for their local hospitals and music schools.

The SAR Philharmonic Orchestra is going from strength to strength. We hope you will help us in our mission to live up to our motto of helping to lessen suffering through Sweet And Romantic music.

Source: The SAR Philharmonic website