Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Hong Kong's symphony orchestra began life in 1947 as an amateur group called the Sino-British Orchestra, assembled through a club that aimed to bring British and native Hong Kongers together through the arts. Known locally as the HKPO or HKPhil, it took its present name in 1957 and became the city's first professional orchestra in 1974. Alongside its classical concerts it occasionally backs cantopop stars such as Hacken Lee and Jacky Cheung.

Its turning points include the arrival of Arrigo Foa, an Italian violinist who had led the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra before migrating to Hong Kong in 1953, under whose training the group improved rapidly. The HKPO made its debut tour of Chinese cities in February 1986, its North American début in autumn 1995 under David Atherton, and its European début in 2003 at London's Barbican Hall. Jaap van Zweden served as music director from 2012 to 2024, and Tarmo Peltokoski was announced as his successor in July 2024, effective from the 2026-2027 season. From 2015 the orchestra also performed Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung over four years, the first Hong Kong or mainland Chinese orchestra to do so.