Lawyer turned conductor enjoys spectacular rise in music career

It's every Chinese parent's worst nightmare. Ken Lam King-kei ditched his stable, successful job as a lawyer in Hong Kong to pursue a career as a classical music conductor in 2005. He'd already spent years at Cambridge for economics in the early 1990s, but fortunately for Lam's folks, it's worked out well.

"I think I was actually very lucky," Lam says. "As with most things, you just have to be in the right place at the right time."

In 2005, Lam had an office in the Jardine Building and after work he led the amateur choir, Hong Kong Voices, among other groups. This summer, he was appointed music director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in North Carolina. This title is on top of commitments he already has across three states in the US.

But he's still making time to return home to lead the Hong Kong Sinfonietta for a concert with pianist Frank Braley on November 21. Instead of a steady comfortable life, Lam now lives a hectic existence out of a suitcase.

"I like it," the 43-year-old says. "I feel equally at home everywhere. It's not like a nine-to-five job. I have a place in New Jersey, a place in Baltimore. I still have a home in Hong Kong and I'm now looking to get an apartment in Charleston."

The newest appointment by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra marks Lam's first time at the head of a major orchestra. "Charleston is nice - it's actually not unlike Hong Kong in many ways. In the South, everybody is connected and everyone knows each other, and the people are very nice and hospitable."