Budding young composers develop creativity through music

What kind of music are young children likely to create? Junior Original Concert, an annual event organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation, provides a glimpse of their range.

Since the first concert was held in Japan in 1972, it has showcased the compositions of budding Beethovens to audiences around the globe. The idea is to develop children’s creativity and ability for self-expression through music. An Asia-Pacific event was established in 1991, and this year’s event was held in Hong Kong – a decade since the city last hosted the concert.

In the spotlight were 12 children aged between eight and 15 years old, whose compositions were selected from 10,000 submissions from around the region. Typically, a first cut of entrants are invited to perform before a panel of music teachers in each country; and they send tapes of shortlisted music to Yamaha Japan, which makes the final selection.

This year’s youngsters came from the mainland and Taiwan, nearby countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand, but also as far away as Australia and Mexico. As the host city, Hong Kong fielded three candidates: 8-year-old Kwan Nok-ching, Jasmine Tso Yuen-see, 10, and Anson Wong Ying-shun, who is 12.

Singer-songwriter Anthony Lun Wing-leung, who has written many of Hong Kong’s pop hits over the past two decades, spent an afternoon with the young composers before their concert just over a week ago, co-organised by the Tom Lee Music Foundation.