On Friday night at Clube Militar the “Organising Committee of the Macau Division of Santa Cecília International Competition” held an awards ceremony, concert and dinner where some of the winners of the competition performed and received their awards.
According to a statement provided by the Organising Committee, the 23rd Santa Cecília International Piano Competition Macau Region Qualifiers, hosted by Anthony Studio and supported by Macau Music Art Space (MMAS), was held on June 13. Out of a total of 27 contestants that took part in the Professional Category and Amateur Themed-Based Category, Chio Chin Hou and Cheang Sam In won the gold and silver awards respectively in the Professional Category after the preliminary and final rounds of the Macau Region Qualifying competition. Both winners are now eligible to enter the global final of the St Cecília International Competition.
The statement noted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic the “China region” final is slated to be held in Beijing in early August.
The awards ceremony, concert and dinner at the Macau Military Club on Friday was held in order to promote the participation of Macau’s youth in international music competitions and to encourage the city’s youngsters to show their talents, according to the statement.
Chio, Cheang and some of the winners from other categories were invited to perform at Friday’s event which was sponsored by BNU and power utility CEM, as well as the Macau General Medical Centre, according to the statement.
During the dinner, Park Goeun played a violin solo, while Anthony Cheong Wai Leong on violin, Abby Chao Ka In on piano, with a story monologue by Jessie Ng Iat I, performed a “Violin, Piano and Story Assemble” of “Macau New Eight Scenes Spots” – The musical love story of “Travessa da Paixão”, the statement pointed out.
Portuguese Consul General Paulo Alves and Portuguese Vice Consul General of Education and Culture Joaquim Ramos presented the Gold and Silver Awards to Chio and Cheang respectively. BNU Chief Executive Officer Carlos Álvares and CEM Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Communications Office Senior Manager Jaclyn Iun awarded scholarships to the two winners, while the representative of the Santa Cecília International Piano Competition Beijing Organising Committee of the China Region Cheong Yuen Tung was presented with the Best Guidance Teacher Award according to the press release.
The Santa Cecília International Piano Competition (formerly known as the Porto International Piano Competition) is one of the most influential music competitions in Europe, the statement underlined. It is hosted by the northern Portuguese city of Porto and the Silva Montero School of Music, organised by the Santa Cecília International Piano Competition China Organising Committee, and co-organised by the Chinese embassy in Portugal, the International Musicians’ Association and the International Association for Foreign Cultural Exchanges. For the third year running, the Santa Cecília International Piano Competition Macau Qualifier has provided a platform for Macau’s young people to showcase their musical skills and to promote the cultivation of a new generation of musical talents in Macau, according to the press release.
Guests, performers and award recipients pose for a photo at Clube Militar on Friday night. Photo courtesy of Echo Chan Keng Hong of the Organising Committee of the Macau Division of Santa Cecília International Competition
