The School Annual Concert, held on 28 June 2021, finally marked the end of many stifling days in lockdown and the tiresome disruptions of countless school events. After the pandemic robbed our musicians and choirs of invaluable opportunities to work and perform as one before a live audience, the Annual Concert came as an exhilarating breath of fresh air for our music groups as they found themselves performing beneath the blinding floodlights of the Hong Kong City Hall.

 

Our exhilaration was so tremendous that even the hoisting of the black rainstorm signal failed to disrupt the smooth operation of the event or put a damper on the mood. Despite the cancellation of morning rehearsals and sudden rearrangements of the schedule, our conductors, teachers and backstage crew ventured to change the course of the wind and allow the concert to progress as planned without jeopardising the safety of the performers or the quality of the performances.

 

With the concerted efforts of everyone involved, our musicians were finally given the spotlight they had been denied for two years. It was with the pent-up emotions and smothering silence of many months in quarantine that our performers played their hearts out, weaving dynamic interpretations with their own fervent passion for music. To be able to play in harmony with fellow musicians, to listen to the synchronised notes rising up to the rafters in perfect unison, to watch those notes crash to the floor and rent the air apart with emotions, was everything our musicians had long for.

 

It is with unlimited gratitude that we thank our conductors, teachers and backstage crew for their tireless work behind the scenes, for guiding our musicians through countless rehearsals with such dedication and resilience. In the aftermath of the pandemic, the Annual Concert embodied the beginning of a cautiously optimistic return to normality, as we look towards the future with stronger hearts and wiser minds.