Bach, whisky, and bed – quarantined musicians of the Hong Kong Philharmonic put a brave face on their Covid-19 isolation

Since the HK Phil’s bass clarinettist tested preliminary positive for Covid-19, his fellow musicians have had to quarantine for two weeks on Lantau Island

The lucky ones with small instruments practised and learned new works, and yoga classes kept players fit, despite the cramped conditions and ‘horrible’ food

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One of the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s quarantined musicians, Megan Sterling, principal flute, plays her husband’s trombone for a change in her quarantine room at Penny’s Bay, Lantau Island. Players have been practising, learning new works, and doing yoga during their confinement. Photo: Megan Sterling

Published: 8:30am, 24 Oct 2020Updated: 10:40pm, 24 Oct 2020

What do you get when you put nearly a hundred musicians all in one place? Mostly solos and duets, if that place is the Penny’s Bay quarantine centre in Hong Kong.

Musicians who performed at Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s season-opening concerts this month have been in isolation at the government facility on Lantau Island for nearly two weeks, after bass clarinettist Lorenzo Iosco tested preliminary positive for Covid-19 on October 13. His infection was confirmed two days later.

They have been placed in the same section of the 1,080-room camp, each minimally furnished room the size of a standard shipping container. Jamming and group rehearsals are banned, obviously, given that nobody can leave their own rooms. But most musicians with smaller instruments have been trying to keep up with their daily practising habits.

“This takes me back to my days at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. The students used to practise on their own shut inside a practice room, and so you hear the sounds of different instruments reverberating in the building,” says Wang Liang, a violinist who has been with the orchestra for 12 years. “The insulation is pretty good, though, so I can still play when the horn player next door practises,” he adds.

Christian Goldsmith (left) and Megan Sterling keep up their practising schedule by playing duets together, experimenting with an unconventional pairing of their two instruments. Photo: Megan Sterling

He is staying on his own in Penny’s Bay because his wife, fellow violinist Gui Li, was off duty the week the orchestra performed at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and so is not considered to have had close contact with Iosco.