Tacky decor, small dishes of ‘char siu bao’, ‘har gao’ and ‘siu mai’ dumplings served from trolleys pushed by reticent wait staff – what you’d normally expect of a standard yum cha outing. Unless you’re attending a ‘yum cha’ concert, that is.

At the Chinese Garden Chamber Music Festival you’ll spot a few differences.  Instead of entering a restaurant you take your seat within the ‘Hall of Longevity’, inside the Chinese Garden of Friendship surrounded by pavilions, waterfalls and graceful bridges.

The live fish swim around serene pools – not fish tanks – and rather than the constant chatter from surrounding tables, you’ll hear some of the world’s best modern and ancient Western and Eastern chamber music.  Performed by the Orava String Quartet, Chinese Australian Music Ensemble, cellist Patrick Murphy, percussionists Claire Edwards, Kevin Man and Timothy Constable, and The Sydney Chinese Music Ensemble.

Festival Director and composer John Huie (whose accolades include a commission by the Chinese Government to write music for the handover of Hong Kong from the British in ’97) has invited three of China’s masters of the erhu, pipa and guqin; Xing Lu (China’s best), Tong Ying and Jin Wei to perform.

In dim-summary, get cultured and a full stomach too.

Chinese Garden Chamber Music Festival
4 – 6 February 2010
11.30 am Matinee concert – $65 (including pre-talk, concert and yum cha meal)
7.00 pm Evening concert – $85 (including pre-talk, concert, Chinese meal and wine)
T: 1800 688 482