2009 is set be a bumper year for the arts, writes Mark Tjhung

In a decade where Macau has become increasingly overrun with the garish glitz and glamour of the casino world, the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) has stood strong amidst the madness. It has continued to support arts in the city, admirably breathing life into the cultural landscape through its stated objective of ‘increasing cultural interchange and expanding culture in Macau’.

Since its establishment in 1999, the CCM has brought numerous outstanding acts to the enclave, including Cats (2007) and Cesaria Evora (2008). Omar Kuok of the Macau Cultural Centre is so overwhelmed by the performances the organisation has brought in, he is at pains to remember his favourites. “I can’t really think – there are so many of them,” he exclaims.

This year, the CCM turns the big one zero, and is celebrating accordingly. But as opposed to your ordinary tenth birthday party, with gift bags, ice-cream cake and balloons, the CCM has opted to commemorate one decade in business by putting together ‘a specially crafted cultural programme’ for 2009.

And is there a better way to kick off the celebrations than with the music of Mozart? Well, possibly. But, then again, rarely will you see Mozart like this. Macau’s own prize-winning, prodigious piano virtuosos, the Lio brothers, will team up for a spectacular performance of Mozart’s Double Piano Concerto in F major on Sunday 18 at the CCM’s Grand Auditorium. And who better to support the soloists in this concerto than a chamber orchestra hailing from Salzburg, the birthplace of the maestro

Indeed, not only is Camerata Salzburg from Mozart’s home town, but it is also one of the world’s finest chamber orchestras, finding special recognition for its revered, Viennese dedicated ‘Camerata’ sound. “We want to provide a platform for local artists to further a more international career,” explains Kuok. This concert, which will also see the Camerata perform works by Schoenberg and Haydn, is a perfect example, providing the opportunity for promising young Macanese artists to collaborate with a renowned international ensemble.

The 2009 musical line up is full of quality, catering to everyone’s taste (well, maybe not everyone – some people are just insatiable). For classical music fiends, in addition to the Camerata Salzburg, another of the world’s great orchestras will visit Macau – the National Symphony Orchestra from Washington DC on June 9. Founded far too long ago to bother thinking about, the NSO, led by principal conductor Ivan Fischer, team up with solo violinist Leonidas Kavakos for the start of its Asian tour in Macau.

But if you’re not particularly motivated by classical music’s modesties, maybe another American musical institution can get you going. The Mingus Big Band, started by the late (and sometimes controversial) New York jazz legend Charles Mingus, brings the great bassist’s legacy to Macau on March 3. Expect lush harmonies, abrupt rhythmic changes and all-round boisterousness – musical traits which could sum up the man himself.

For something far more unique (and far less American), audiences can look forward to the performance of Mariza on September 5, a singer from Portugal famous for her interpretation of Fado, the mournful, lyrical Portuguese folk music.

Meanwhile in the realm of dance, the CCM is indulging in a bit of a ballet fetish. On January 21 and 22, the Finnish National Ballet will perform Seagull at the Grand Auditorium, John Meumeier’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s classic play, set to a soundtrack by some of Russia’s musical masters – Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Scriabin. And later in the year on November 25 and 26, the world’s foremost flamenco company, the Spanish National Ballet, will come to Macau in its entire foot-stomping, castanet-clattering, fan flaring glory.

With one of the CCM’s primary objectives to encourage local artistic and cultural productions, this year sees local representation across the artistic spectrum continue to fill the calendar. The Macau dance industry will be featured in Macao Tale: Have steps will travelon March 21 and 22, with Hong Kong choreographer Yuri Ng collaborating with a new group of female dancers in an exploration of womanhood. On the theatre front, the second Black Box Theatre Series will go ahead from September 9-21, featuring cutting-edge productions from local and overseas groups, promoting its purpose of ‘breaking the barriers of conventional theatre’.

But, as Vanessa Williams once famously but hideously sang, the CCM has gone and ‘saved the best for last.’ The highlight of the whole year, according to Kuok, will be a mysterious musical. Following the overwhelming response to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats in 2007, the CCM recognised the popularity of this theatrical form. “Cats was so well received in Macau that we decided to do a meaningful project in Macau, and [so] we put in place a plan to create our own musical”.

Late this year, three years of tireless training and countless workshops will culminate in an extravaganza. And although he remains coy about the precise details (“It’s confidential!”), Kuok assures Time Out that it will have nothing to do with cats, phantoms or the miserable. “It will not be a Broadway musical… It will be an original musical, relevant to the people of Macau and their daily lives.”

The CCM is clearly thrilled about this production, and proud of everyone involved. “You could say it’s a milestone production… It shows the passion and commitment of the people… and really symbolises what we can achieve in our own art industry”.

The musical, which shall remain nameless because it doesn’t have a name yet, underlines the CCM’s contribution to the arts in Macau. But you’ll have to be patient – the musical is unlikely to take place until December, 2009.