Autistic Hong Kong conductors win rave reviews from cellist Matthew Barley

A world-class musician has described playing under a group of Hong Kong's newest conductors as "immediate, spontaneous and raw". The novice maestros were 20 young people who shared two things in common: autism and never having conducted before.

Aged 14 to 25, they were taking part in two workshops held by Music For Autism, a London-based charity which aims to connect with autistic individuals through classical music.

The highlight was the rare one-to-one contact with internationally respected British cellist Matthew Barley in a unique music-making process.

"I play and improvise on the cello following the conducting of the children and it is as though they are creating the music with their bodies. They are so free, and you will see the moment when they suddenly realise they are making music in some way, and that is incredible," said Barley.

"The goal of a musician is to touch people, and when you are sitting in front of somebody with whom you can feel the connection, that's priceless and that's why we play music," he added.

Renowned conductor John Lubbock founded Music for Autism in 2002 and brought the project to Youth Square in Chai Wan last Friday - the charity's first stop in the Far East since its international wing launched an Asian branch in Abu Dhabi last April.