Hong Kong-born pianist Colleen Lee Ka-ling urges more local support for classical musicians
Hong Kong-born Colleen Lee Ka-ling finds she can't make a living performing classical music full time in a city more supportive of pop stars
Hong Kong lacks the musical infrastructure to allow gifted solo classical musicians to turn professional - despite the sky-high fees parents pay for tuition.
So says Colleen Lee Ka-ling, the only Hong Kong pianist to win a medal from the prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition in Poland. The competition takes place every five years, and some of the world's most renowned pianists have been among the winners.
A decade on from getting the award, Lee has played around the world to acclaim, but supplements her performing career by teaching part time at her alma mater, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She would like to concentrate on performing full time, but says doing here is all but impossible.
"Unlike Taiwan or Japan where you can do a concert tour from city to city, Hong Kong is so small that you can't perform around the 18 districts," Lee said, speaking ahead of a recital of an all-Russian programme at the City Hall Theatre on Thursday.
"I wish Hong Kong had the kind of artist agency that would promote us local musicians to perform overseas through its connections in the classical music industry," she said. The pianist recalled the enthusiastic cheers she received during a tour to South America in 2010 with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, which showcased local talent in classical music.
"I was thrilled and felt genuinely a cultural ambassador of Hong Kong in front of the passionate audiences who were really cheering for us," she said.