Registration is now open for the 4th Hong Kong International Harp Competition, taking place in Chai Wan on Oct. 4 – 8, 2018. The deadline to submit applications and video recordings is May 31, 2018, and contestants will be notified by July 31, 2018 if they advanced to the final round. “More than 130 harpists competed in the 2015 Hong Kong Harp Competition, and so this year, we have expanded the 4th competition to include eight divisions for lever and pedal harp, with age ranges from under 6 to 30+, making it one of the few competitions in the world open to such a wide age range,” says competition committee member Angela Yau. She adds, “Our aim is to provide opportunities for young harpists to perform, to learn, and to grow, so the contestants receive detailed comments from the jury, and the competition also includes masterclasses with several jury members, including Milda Agazarian and Isabelle Perrin. A number of contestants will be selected to perform, but all contestants can attend the masterclass at no cost.” Other jury members include Shannon Chieh, Jason Chan, Jaymee Haefner, Ann Huang, Barbara Sze, Amy Tam, Lauyee Yeung, and Dan Yu.
The competition, masterclasses, and concert featuring the 2015 winner of the Harp Contest in Israel, Yuying Chen, will all take place at the Hong Kong Youth Square (Y Square)—a major multipurpose center for youth development in Hong Kong. Yau says, “We are thrilled to be able to promote the harp to a much wider audience by holding the competition at the Y Square. Having the competition in this hub of youth activity will bring awareness of the harp to a wider audience, and I think many young people who have never heard the harp before will be truly amazed and inspired by the incredibly talented young harpists of all ages who will perform during this competition.”
For more information about the competition, visit http://hkharpsociety.org/competition-2018/.
