Macao Int'l Music Festival opens

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 ◆ Macao Int'l Music Festival opens

The 16th Macao International Music Festival opened here Friday (Oct.4) with a classic opera, whetting the appetites of both local and overseas art lovers.

From Oct. 4-23, the festival is set to offer 14 different programs covering opera, symphony works, chamber music and contemporary music, reflecting an encounter of the Eastern and Western cultures.

"This year's music festival will exhibit an even higher artistic standard and an added localized flavor, with a budget of 12 million patacas (1.5 million US dollars)," President Ho Lai Chun of the Cultural Institute told the press on the sidelines of the Macao Cultural Center, the venue for performances over the festival.

World-class musical groups including the New York Philharmonic, the Choir of Westminster Abbey and the Borodin String Quartet will be invited to perform in the coming days.

Local government expects the annual event will as usual give a shot in the arm to the city's tourism industry. China's inlanders, who now make up slightly more than one third of the total tourist arrivals in Macao, are flocking here over the week-long National Day holidays.