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Extracurricular intelPublished 2026-10-12

Music Festival Class N242: performing with double bass is now required

The Association has updated Class N242 (String Orchestra, Secondary School, Intermediate) for the 79th Music Festival: piece and composer unchanged, score collected from its office, and a new requirement to perform with double bass.

Gradepath@BeBuddiDigital editor

Official notice

In an "Update on 79M Publication Information" notice on its website, the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association has updated the class information for Class N242, String Orchestra – Secondary School – Intermediate, at the 79th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival (2027), presented as original versus updated information: the piece remains unchanged (Britten, Simple Symphony, 3rd movement: Poco lento e pesante); the composer remains unchanged (Britten); the score publication is Simple Symphony for String Quartet, publisher Chester Music, CH80509, collectable from the Association office on or after 29 September 2026 upon presentation of the original HKSMSA membership card and payment of a handling fee; and the competition requirements field changes from "/" to "must perform with double bass".

Gradepath analysis

The trap is that this changes a single field, and it lives in an expandable table in a homepage notice rather than in the syllabus itself. The competition requirements field was previously "/", taken to mean no additional requirement; it now reads "must perform with double bass". The Association names an instrument rather than a part, so read literally a physical double bass is required — school string orchestras often cover the bass line with cellos, and an orchestra with no double bass player must re-cast or even re-score before the contest. Second, the score is not a download: the notice says it can be collected from the Association office on or after 29 September 2026 with the original membership card and a handling fee, and gives no closing collection date, so arrange it early. Third, amendments are published separately from the syllabus, and the Association has also announced syllabus updates for Classes 87, 88 and 243 — revisions keep arriving, so check the special announcements box before and after enrolment; reading only the syllabus will miss them.

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Open today's quest: pre-contest practice →

Official source：香港學校音樂及朗誦協會 ↗

Dates, quotas and admission arrangements follow official and school announcements; the analysis here is general information and is not individual admissions or professional advice.

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