In Search of Perfect Consonance A film by Ruby Yang Press Kit Year: 2016 Length: 39 min. Language: English/Cantonese/Mandarin/Japanese Subtitles: English Website: www.consonance-movie.com Press Contact: E: [email protected] Production Company: Chang Ai Media Project Ltd. E: [email protected] SYNOPSIS Twenty-five years ago, China was at war with Vietnam, the Chinese and the Japanese were at loggerheads and relations across the Taiwan Strait were frosty. Directed by Oscar® winner Ruby Yang, In Search of Perfect Consonance profiles the Asian Youth Orchestra, established against this historical backdrop with the aim of connecting the region’s young people through music. As we watch the budding musicians of today’s Asia learn to work together, we are reminded of the higher ideals that music inspires. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT Ruby Yang When I traveled to China in 1986, you couldn’t mention the word “Taiwan” without rousing suspicion you might be a spy. The Chinese considered their Vietnamese neighbors enemies, and they still couldn’t forgive the Japanese for their invasion of Nanking – five decades earlier. In such an environment, the idea of bringing young people from different Asian countries together to play music seemed little more than a Quixotic dream. But that is exactly what Richard Pontzious and the late Yehudi Menuhin did when they set up the Asian Youth Orchestra. Last year, I was able to witness first hand just how successful this dream has become when I spent the summer with the Asian Youth Orchestra filming this documentary. It was inspiring for me to see the orchestra’s dedicated artist faculty working together with talented young musicians from all over Asia to create a strong community of trusted friends. Music has the power to heal and bind. In today’s complex world, it’s more important than ever to have music and the performing arts bridging political and cultural divides and bringing people together. DIRECTOR’S BIO Ruby Yang Ruby Yang is an award-winning Chinese American filmmaker. She directed The Blood of Yingzhou District, which won the Oscar for best documentary short in 2007, and The Warriors of Qiugang, which received an Academy nomination in the same category in 2011. The Wall Street Journal called her 2014 documentary My Voice, My Life one of the “five most essential films” to come out of Hong Kong that year. She now heads the Hong Kong Documentary Initiative at the University of Hong Kong, which aims to nurture the next generation of documentary filmmakers in the region. SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY The Blood of Yingzhou District (2006) Documentary Short Follows the lives of children orphaned by AIDS in the remote villages of Anhui Province. www.bloodofyingzhou.com The Warriors of Qiugang (2010) Documentary Short Profiles an Anhui farmer and his campaign to halt the poisoning of his village’s water and soil by a nearby factory. www.warriorsofqiugang.com My Voice, My Life (2014) Feature Documentary Follows an unlikely group of misfit high school students from Hong Kong cast together for a musical theater performance. www.myvoicemylifemovie.com HISTORICAL CONTEXT The late 1980s were tense times for East Asia. With Mainland China and Vietnam shooting each other across their shared border, tens of thousands of Vietnamese people were trying to escape their country in boats, heading for Hong Kong. Meanwhile, a number of incidents embittered relations between China and Japan. Frictions arose when Japanese history textbooks dealing with the 1931-45 war between the two countries were revised, and again when the then Japanese prime minister, Yasuhiro Nakasone, visited the Yasukuni Shrine, which commemorates Japanese soldiers who died during the conflict, some of whom are considered war criminals. At the same time, ongoing disputes over unification kept China and Taiwan at loggerheads. “Peace may sound simple - one beautiful word - but it requires everything we have, every quality, every strength, every dream, every high ideal.” – Yehudi Menuhin, Violinist and Conductor FILM SUBJECT The Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO), set up in 1987, was the brainchild of conductor and teacher, Richard Pontzious. His goal was to create an orchestra that would unite the region and celebrate the excellence of young Asian musicians. “If we could enjoy peace and realize that we can get along with each other, even though we have different values and come from different backgrounds. This is what I was trying to convey to the members of the orchestra.” – Richard Pontzious, AYO Founder, Artistic Director, and Conductor Backed by the distinguished violinist Yehudi Menuhin, the orchestra played its first concert in 1990. Since then, it has given more than 350 performances in some of the world’s top venues, reaching over a million concertgoers and becoming what the San Francisco Chronicle describes as the “finest among youth orchestras around the world.” The 100 members of the AYO are among the finest young musicians from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Chosen through highly competitive auditions held throughout the region, they are together for six weeks each summer, first for a three- week rehearsal camp in Hong Kong, then for a three-week international concert tour alongside celebrated conductors and solo artists. In Search of Perfect Consonance looks at the AYO’s history and mission, the founders’ ideals, and the personal stories of those involved in the orchestra. Following Asia’s best young musicians as they learn to work together, the film explores the higher ideals that music inspires. FEATURING Richard Pontzious, Artistic Director & Conductor Asian Youth Orchestra was created by Richard Pontzious, who at the time was touring extensively in Taiwan, Japan and China introducing Chinese audiences emerging from the horrors of the Cultural Revolution to the music of Beethoven, Brahms, Prokofiev and Copland. The orchestra’s founding principle was to promote peace and friendship through the power of music. It’s an aim that has garnered support from some of the world’s top musicians, with the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin leading the way, becoming the orchestra’s co-founder and first conductor. James Judd, Principal Conductor Principal conductor of the AYO since 2007, the British-born James Judd’s music directorships have included Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre National de Lille in France and a groundbreaking 14 years as Music Director of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. Steven Isserlis, Cello Soloist Steven Isserlis has supported the Asian Youth Orchestra as a soloist since 2013. Born in the UK, he is one of the world’s most famous cellists, known for the passion of his performance and his diverse repertoire. He is one of only two living cellists featured in Gramophone’s Hall of Fame. FEATURING Artist Faculty Toko Inomoto, Viola Born in Kumamoto, Japan, Toko Inomoto was a member of the very first AYO. Her late father, Otoya Inomoto, played a critical role in the successful launch of the orchestra in Japan. Rhonda Rider, Cello Rhonda Rider is currently Chair of Chamber Music at the Boston Conservatory in the United States and has been a faculty artist with the AYO for the past 12 years. Thanos Adamopoulos, Violin Thanos Adamopoulos started his musical studies with his father in Israel. At 19, he was appointed solo violinist of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been a faculty artist with the AYO for the past 20 years. Stefano Pagliani, Violin Stefano Pagliani has been described by Lorin Maazel as “the most prominent concertmaster in Italy”. 2015 was his first summer with the AYO. Jay Liu, Viola Jay Liu was 16 when he entered the Shanghai Conservatory where Richard Pontzious was serving as music director. A member of the AYO’s artist faculty since 1999, Liu is associate principal violist with the San Francisco Symphony. David Sheets, Double Bass Kansas-native David Sheets is a member of the Baltimore Symphony. He has been an AYO faculty artist since 2006. Fabio Piazzalunga, Chorus Master Fabio Piazzalunga is an Italian pianist, organist, composer, and conductor. He teaches musical language, piano, and choral performance at the Gaetano Donizetti Institute of Music in Bergamo. 2015 was his first summer with the AYO. FEATURING Orchestra Members Tzu Wei Huang Cellist, Taiwan Ho Khanh Van Hoang First Violinist, Vietnam Yi Hao Xu First Violinist, China He Yu Yan Concertmaster, China Kanako Fukumoto Second Violinist, Japan Sanche Jagatheesan Double Bassist, Singapore Charlie Tsz Ho Wong Double Bassist, Hong Kong Mayu Ohkado Double Bassist, Japan Shao Hua Wu Bass Trombonist, Taiwan Other Artists Sooyeon Lee Soprano Jenny Hou Mezzo Soprano Jun Bum Lee Tenor Benno Schollum Baritone Entire AYO Artist Faculty 2015 Orchestra Members Tokyo Chorus Members PRODUCTION STILLS Production Still 1 Production Still 2 Hong Kong double bassist Charlie Tsz Ho Wong Ho Khanh Van Hoang from Hanoi is one of the is the oldest player in his section. As a teenager, only two Vietnamese players in AYO. She failed he suffered from depression before finding her first audition. But when admitted on her solace in music. second try, she nearly got the chance to be the concert master. Production Still 3 Production Still 4 An AYO violin audition at the Academy for Trombonist Wu Shao Hua from Taiwan nearly Performing Arts in Hong Kong. gave up his chance to take part in AYO’s summer camp when his father was diagnosed with cancer two weeks before he was meant to depart. Production Still 5 Production Still 6 Lively Indian Singaporean Sanche Jagatheesan Japanese violinist Kanako Fukomoto is angry loves to jam with his fellow double bassists, who with herself for not practicing and disappointing come from seven different Asian countries. the conductor. PRODUCTION STILLS Production Still 7 Production Still 8 Richard Pontzious conducts Beethoven’s 9th Richard Pontzious founded the Asian Youth Symphony in Hong Kong’s City Hall Concert Orchestra in 1987 with the legendary violinist Hall, one of many concerts celebrating the Yehudi Menuhin.