Joyce Law

Over the past 40 years, Music Office has nurtured generations of musicians and music lovers. To commemorate this moment, Music Office has invited some outstanding alumni and former Music Administrators to share their precious moments at Music Office.

Joyce Law （Former member of the Music Office Youth Choir）

“Having been a member of the school choir since a very young age, Joyce Law was briefed on the Hong Kong Youth Music Camp of the Music Office by her school teacher when she was in Form 3. She decided to give it a try. Since then, there has been a subtle bond between her and the Music Office. At that time, Ms Law applied to join the Music Camp Choir with a good friend of hers, but only she was admitted. She had once considered giving up the chance. However, the superb performance of the choir members in the pre-camp rehearsals had her wonder struck. “They all had a passion for singing and their standard was so amazing.” She then plucked up the courage to join the music camp, and later joined the Music Office Youth Choir where she met members of different backgrounds. Ms Law found that she loved choral singing even more. “Singing in a choir is not something personal, but a concerted effort to make harmony and to give wonderful singing performances.” Making friends with people who share the same interests helps Ms Law understand herself more. “When I was in the music camp, I always practiced singing until my throat was sore and my voice hoarse. Thus, I often brought lozenges with me. But I noticed that my fellow choir members did not need lozenges at all. This made me understand the importance of daily training and practice.” Ms Law specifically mentioned the conductor Jing Li at that time, who had a longlasting influence on her. Ms Li made her realise that choral singing was not only an art that brought choir members together for a common goal, but also represented the spirit of perseverance. “I studied speech therapy in university and had started a career in the profession. Then, I realised that I still had a passion for choral singing. So I pondered if I should turn music into my profession. I eventually returned to university to study vocal music.” Conductor Jing Li also taught Ms Law the ways to learn. “Ms Li sets clear targets for choir members in each training session. When targets were reached, the session would end with joy. I later discovered that setting clear targets for choir members to achieve together was also a norm for many other conductors. It shed light on me, thus I set my own targets whenever I practise or provide coaching to others too.” Another conductor who had inspired Ms Law was the Senior Music Officer of the Music Office, Dr Angelina Au. “Dr Au was very patient with choir members. Music is, in fact, an art that requires dedication to excellence. She taught us patiently and led us to reach the targets instead of forcing us to achieve the standard. That was totally different from my past learning experience.” Ms Law realised that musicians are not only going after artistic skills, but also the character and manner that inspire others. Ms Law considers that vocal music is the use of one’s voice to sincerely express one’s own thoughts. “At first, our voices may need to be refined, but after learning vocal music, our voices will become more beautiful, which enable us to express ourselves and, in turn, to move the audience.” As a choir conductor and a vocalist, Ms Law is working toward this goal.

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