Mozart considered the organ the 'king of instruments' and it seems the traditional church accompaniment is now attracting more young people. Anne Lam Cheuk-bun, 22, discovered the joys of organ playing at an LCSD summer workshop in 2001 - and it's taking her all the way to New York. She has won a scholarship to the prestigious Eastman School of Music and will begin her master's degree in September. 'More people are playing the organ now thanks to its promotion by churches and the LCSD [Leisure and Cultural Services Department],' said the music student from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). ' It was my music teacher who suggested I try it. I thought it would be challenging to learn something unusual so I gave it a try,' she said. After the workshop that changed her life, Ms Lam started taking organ classes run by the LCSD and then entered the music department of the CUHK, majoring in organ. The master's degree will not only help her hone her techniques, but will also let her learn how to maintain and repair organs. Few people in Hong Kong have this professional skill. Although many Hong Kong people think that it's hard to earn a living as a musician, Ms Lam is confident about her future. 'I will come back to Hong Kong after I complete my master's degree. I would like to be a performer as well as an instructor in the church,' she said. 'Since the organ is an important music instrument to Christians, many churches may want to hire professional instructors to train organists.' Ms Lam said few people play the organ because it's not easy. Students need to have an eighth grade diploma in piano before they can even begin to learn. Also, unlike other musical instruments, each organ can have a very different structure. Some have a multi-layered keyboard while simpler ones have a piano-like keyboard. The number of pipes can vary too. The organ at the Cultural Centre has about 8,000 pipes and is the largest in Asia but some organs have only several hundred pipes. 'It makes playing the organ exceptionally challenging because every time you play a different one you have to adapt to it,' Ms Lam said. 'I need more than an hour to prepare before playing a new organ.'