The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (Chinese: 香港中樂團; abbreviated HKCO) was founded in 1977. The orchestra has won the accolades as “a leader in Chinese ethnic music” and “a cultural ambassador of Hong Kong”. It is often invited to perform at famous venues and festivals all over the world, having covered Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and the Arctic Circle to date. It has been acclaimed as a leader among full-sized Chinese music ensembles in the international arena today.
The Orchestra has an establishment of 91 professional musicians playing in four sections: bowed-strings, plucked-strings, wind and percussion. The instruments include both the traditional and the improved, new versions. The bowed-string section has been using the Eco-Huqin series developed by the Orchestra since 2009, and is capable of performing both traditional Chinese music and contemporary, full-length works in a variety of musical formats and contents. The Orchestra also explores new frontiers in music through commissioning about 2,300 new works of various types and styles, whether as original compositions or arrangements.