Debra Li

    Debra_lidan@163.com

    CHARMING young musicians will take center stage at the Shenzhen Concert Hall during its new season that spans five months starting in April. Chamber music, a cappella, piano and orchestra, the 11 colorful programs cater to all sorts of music fans, especially young people with ears more tuned to modern repertoires. Better news: Tickets start at just 60 yuan (US$9.8) per seat for some shows.

    Opening the season will be award-winning classical guitarist Milos Karadaglic from Montenegro. Born in 1983, he started playing guitar at age 8. Despite the Yugoslav Wars that isolated his homeland from the rest of Europe, 17-year-old Karadaglic successfully applied for a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music in London. His debut album topped the classical charts around the world in 2011 and earned him both the prestigious Gramophone Young Artist of the Year and Echo Klassik Newcomer of the Year awards.

    The artist, praised for his lithe, subtle timber and transcendentally beautiful playing, will perform “Mozart Variations” by Fernando Sor, “Spanish Dances No. 2-Oriental” by Enrique Granados and Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Invocation and Dance,” among others. People will also hear “Kiss Me a Lot,” one of the most famous boleros and the most sung and recorded Latin American song, written by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velazquez in 1940.

    Visiting next will be Melisma Saxophone Quartet from the Netherlands. With its four members from four European countries, the quartet ranked fourth at the 7th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan in 2011. The group has performed in major concert halls in the Netherlands and abroad, as well as at major festivals. Their program will include familiar pieces like “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, “Capriccio” by Felix Mendelssohn, part of a Mozart serenade, but audiences will also hear tasteful yet less familiar works like “Csardas” by Vittorio Monti.

    In May, the concert hall has arranged an a cappella festival. Audiences will be able to see troupes from around the world perform, including Dutch popular vocal band Basix, winner of five international a cappella awards. Their repertoire encompasses many different styles: pop, jazz, R&B and rock. They also rearrange classical songs creatively. Their program will include familiar numbers such as “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” “Come Into My Dream,” as well as a Britney Spears medley.

    Another top a cappella band, having taken up residence on Broadway for one and a half years, call themselves the Voca People. They claim they come from the Voca Star behind the Sun and communicate through vocal music. They dress completely in white except for their bright red lips. Nothing but music provides them with strength. They arrive on Earth to sample its wide variety of music.

    Their a cappella comedy show consists of 12 songs, including theme songs from movies like “Titanic” and “Godfather,” works from classic composers such as Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mozart, as well as Billboard hits like Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger.”

    The final a cappella concert will feature two bands — MICappells from Singapore and Sirens from Taiwan. Both were on the top five list of Chinese singing competition “The Sing-Off” in 2012. They will perform pop songs familiar to young Chinese audiences, such as “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas and “One Night in Beijing” by Bobby Chen.

    Fans of piano music will have the chance to listen to young masters Wang Yujia, Li Yundi and Xue Xiaoqiu.

    The concert hall has also arranged entertaining shows for children, including “The Ugly Duckling” presented by Lightwire Theater, the musical “Garfield’s Birthday Party” and an animation concert.

    On the sidelines of the shows will be 80 free lectures and concerts on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

    Schedule

    8 p.m., April 18 Milos Karadaglic in classical guitar recital

    8 p.m., April 25 Melisma Saxophone Quartet concert

    8 p.m., May 3 Basix a cappella concert

    8 p.m., May 16 Voca People Fantasy Music Comedy

    8 p.m., May 23 MICappella vs. Sirens a cappella concert

    8 p.m., May 30 “The Ugly Duckling” presented by Lightwire Theater

    10:30 a.m., 3 p.m., June 1 Garfield’s Birthday Party the musical

    8 p.m., June 6 Wang Yujia Piano Recital

    8 p.m., July 23 Li Yundi in concert with National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America

    8 p.m., Aug. 15 “Chopin and Magic Piano” animation concert

    8 p.m., Aug. 20 Xue Xiaoqiu Piano Concert for Chinese Valentine’s Day

    Tickets start at 60, 80 and 100 yuan for various shows.

    Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, intersection of Hongli Road and Yitian Road, Futian District (福田区红荔路和益田路交汇处深圳音乐厅)

    Metro: Longgang or Longhua Line, Children’s Palace Station (少年宫

    站), Exit B

    Hotline: 8284-1888

    Website: www.szyyt.com