Symphony of youth

The orchestra marked its 20th anniversary with a series of New Year's Day performances last week. Keen on innovation and giving back to society, MYO hosts flash mobs to bring orchestral music to the wider public. The orchestra also runs programs where music is used as an educational tool to develop skills such as the ability to be a good listener in children.

"To be honest, I think of all our students maybe 5 percent will pursue music as a career," Ho observes. What the rest can take away from the experience is that "music is good as we can collaborate with other artists practicing different art forms to help people in need and bring them hope and joy". He mentions that MYO held a concert to raise funds to build schools on the mainland.

Reassuringly for the leaders of the two institutes, the good work they have been doing for a while seems to have spun off similar efforts to encourage young people to embrace music as a vital part of their lives, The number of young musicians is on the rise in Hong Kong, with some of them writing new music, to be presented at pop-up concerts. And the range of music genres they're presenting is as eclectic as it can get.

Lee shares that artists from abroad performing in Hong Kong are often surprised to find a largely young audience filling up the theater at classical music concerts.

"I think, at the end of the day, it's about making sure the ecosystem of the classical music world can continue to evolve and progress nonstop. That's why the next generation is so important," he says.