The Learners Orchestra

In April 2006, a group of caring orchestral players performed in “A Tribute to Mozart – Requiem and other works”, a charity concert presented by The Learners Chorus (the “Chorus”) to commemorate the 250th birthday of Mozart. In September 2007, the Friends of Learners Orchestra (the “FLO”) was officially founded and made its debut at the Chorus’ annual concert at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, featuring Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky cantata. Since then, FLO has performed with the Chorus in its large-scale concerts, namely, “Magnificat through the Ages”, “Celebrating Thirty Years of Harmony: Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 8 Symphony of a Thousand”, “Rossini Messa di Gloria & Brahms Schicksalslied”, and “Giuseppe Verdi: Messa da Requiem”. At its performance in “Celebrating Great Masters for the Voice” in September 2013, FLO was renamed The Learners Orchestra (“TLO”), making it the official orchestral partner of the Chorus. As part of the Chorus’ 35th Anniversary Concert Series, TLO held its inaugural concert with the Chorus in May 2014, performing “Mahler Symphony No. 2 Resurrection”, followed by “Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem” in August 2014. Subsequent to that, TLO performed in the 2015 SliderAsia Music Festival’s “SliderAsia Open Winners Feature & Learners Orchestra Concert”, “La Musica Sacra Italiana” in July 2015, “Songs of Praise – in Voces Multi” in January 2016, featuring Lully’s Te Deum, “Mozart Great Mass in C minor” in September 2016, and “Lux Aeterna” in January 2017.

2017 also saw the 10th anniversary of TLO. “10 May x 10 Years: A French Celebration” concert was held in May 2017, featuring Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 in C minor, “Organ”. This was followed by “Lights of Belief and Praise” in September later that year.

Members of TLO are recruited from various local schools and universities, as well as from community and professional orchestras. All members strongly dedicate themselves to supporting charitable performances of the Chorus without receiving any honorarium. Their selfless and benevolent effort, and consistently high performance standards have been much appreciated by the Chorus, the audience, and all beneficiaries. TLO also aims to play a vital role in promoting music education – specifically, by providing opportunities for music students to work alongside their teachers, amateurs alongside professional musicians; and in expanding their concert repertoire beyond standard orchestral music.

Source: The Learners Orchestra