This year’s School Concert entitled Mozart and the Wizard of Oz explored new ground with a celebrated young pianist from Beijing and collaboration with the Theatre Noir Foundation for the abridged version of the Wizard of Oz.

The evening commenced with spirited solos from sopranos Dr Sylvia Chen and Ms Marisa Kwok followed by the always popular tenor Alex Tam. But it was the powerful duet by Mr Tam and Ms Kwok singing Brindisi from La Traviata that drew special applause from the appreciative audience. The Conductor of the accompanying Hong Kong Strings, Professor Chan Wing-wah, then introduced David Lai Jia-jun a young 19-year-old prodigy from Beijing who played the title music of the evening, with the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in Eb, K271, followed by a beautiful encore of Chopin.

After the intermission, the Centennial Singers from the Centennial College impressed the audience by giving a wonderful rendition of The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond with excellent Scottish accents.

The highlight of the evening was an abridged version of the famous musical The Wizard of Oz, produced in collaboration with the Theatre Noir Foundation and performed by the HKUSPACE Community College (CC) and the HKU SPACE Alumni choir. Summie Tang Kiu-sum, a talented student from the CC took on the difficult role of Dorothy and delivered a memorable performance including the classic Somewhere over the Rainbow. Altogether the cast delivered a totally delightful evening of entertainment with some singularly memorable moments.