‘The father of Hong Kong modern music’ reflects on his award-winning career and fusing East and West in harmony
As he turns 90, Macau-born music maverick Doming Lam reflects on a life that has led to him being called the ‘father of Hong Kong modern music’
Veteran composer Doming Lam Ngok-pui has lived such a long life that he can causally say, “oh yes, [former broadcast chief] Cheung Man-yee was a presenter of my programme”.
Turning 90 this month, the Macau-born music maverick recalls many “firsts” in his long career in Hong Kong, starting with the variety show he produced at Rediffusion TV, a flagship station in the mid-1960s, which helped groom iconic figures such as Cheung and the late James Wong, a top showbiz songwriter and TV host.
Lam’s stint in television was no accident. He was among a privileged few, and the only Asian, in the master class of Miklos Rozsa, a three-time Oscar winning composer, whose credits include Ben Hur.
“It was destiny that a newspaper ad on his forthcoming class at the University of Southern California caught my eye,” the nonagenarian said, recalling the moment shortly after he graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
His three years in the vicinity of Hollywood exposed him to the world’s leading music-making experience. He also got to see “King of the Violin” Jascha Heifetz and his trio at work on the USC campus.