He swapped Taiwan for Tokyo in 1968 to teach for five years at St. Mary’s International School before returning to the US to study for a master’s degree in music at San Jose State University. After a stint as music critic of the San Francisco Examiner, he returned to Asia in 1983 to join the Shanghai Conservatory of Music as conductor-in-residence.

It was there that he came up with the idea of an orchestra for young Asian musicians. No matter where he worked in Asia as a teacher and music director, he would witness the frustration felt by young musicians who saw a lack of opportunity to develop their careers and to perform close to home. And so in 1987, he moved to Hong Kong to develop the idea of the orchestra.

Each year, the orchestra has held auditions across the region to select 100 members, aged 17 to 29, who train together in a music camp for several weeks before going on tour in Asia and beyond. These members are accompanied by well-known guest conductors and soloists, who in the past have included cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Mischa Maisky, violinist Gidon Kremer, pianist Alicia de Larrocha, conductor Sergiu Comissiona and James Judd, AYO’s principal conductor.

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The real star by far, especially when it came to playing a major role in the orchestra’s creation, was the late Yehudi Menuhin. Pontzious had written about how the legendary American-born violinist was receptive to his idea and immediately agreed to become co-founder and music director in 1987.

“Even today I am astonished that this extraordinary musician, someone who lives up there with the gods, would trust so much in what the Asian Youth Orchestra might become,” Pontzious wrote for the orchestra’s website. “He seemed to sense its potential from the outset. His sparkling, clear blue eyes came alive whenever we talked about it. His introduction to former British prime minister Edward Heath, who had been so instrumental in founding the European Community Youth Orchestra, was crucial to our eventual success.”

Menuhin came to Hong Kong to conduct the orchestra’s inaugural concert in 1990, nine years before he died.

Today, the orchestra counts among its latest recruits players from 12 Asian countries and territories, and remains a rare platform for musicians to perform within the region across political divides.

The quality of the concerts is regularly impressive, and when the orchestra performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 – a piece of music that has become an anthem for unity – the audience often end up on their feet.

Pontzious managed to secure major backers to help the orchestra flourish as a home-grown institution in Hong Kong. The first patron to sign a cheque was businesswoman Sally Aw, who gave HK$5 million at its founding – a huge sum at the time. Banker and politician David Li Kwok-po is a past chairman and remains on the board. The current chairman is James Thompson, founder and chairman of the Crown Worldwide Group.

Before that, he had already earned the Bronze Bauhinia Star in 2000, the same year he received his private pilot’s licence, which he made good use of five years later when he and the orchestra’s general manager Keith Lau (as navigator) flew across the whole of the United States.

Lau said he is greatly saddened by the sudden death of a close friend and mentor. Pontzious had spoken to directors about succession planning in recent years and the work of the orchestra would continue with the full support of the board, he said. Pontzious had made an early call this year to postpone the 30th anniversary concert tour to 2022 – a prescient decision considering that the daily number of new Covid-19 cases is still rising in many countries.

Tributes have been flooding in since Pontzious’ death. Hong Kong’s Secretary for Home Affairs, Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, said in a government statement that Pontzious created an orchestra that unites the region and celebrates the talents of Asia’s brightest young musicians.

“Under his leadership as conductor, writer, teacher and mentor and through annual world tours, he has nurtured and inspired thousands of young talents in the pursuit of artistic excellence over the years since 1987. Mr Pontzious had made tremendous contributions to the arts and culture sector in Hong Kong,” the statement said.

One particularly affecting tribute came from the cellist Wang Jian, who performed with the orchestra in 2008 and 2010. He wrote: “Richard was a great musician, with a towering passion for music that is infectious. He created miracles every year with the AYO, from whom I have heard some of the most inspiring music-making I have ever witnessed.

“Personally and professionally, he will always have a very special place in my heart. When I was 13, I toured the US for the first time. Richard heard me play at a concert in San Francisco, and wrote a ringing review in the San Francisco Examiner – a confirmation which sustained and encouraged me during my first years trying to become a musician. I will never, ever forget that.

“Music is a reflection of life, where eternal beauty is but a fleeting moment, yet those moments will always live in our hearts, hopefully carrying us to the next existence. Richard has touched the lives of a huge amount of young musicians. He will live on in our memories, in moments many of us will cherish for as long as we can live.”