Facing the loss of his loved one, Wan Long Kin, Kelvin finds the power of music in soothing people who are facing death because of sickness.

Realizing there is no current music-related programme for end-of-life comfort and compassionate care, Wan, the former Acting Council Chairperson of the Cultural Association of HKU, came up with the idea of spreading positivity to the sick and the elderly through music concerts.

“As a musician, I truly know that music has the power to soothe people,” said Wan, a fifth-year Civil Engineering student who is also minoring in music.

Last year, with the support of the Yang Tuck Ming and Wong Fung Ying Service Learning Fund from HKU, Wan led the members from the Cultural Association and created a project called “Music Outreach in Care Homes and Hospitals”. As the project coordinator, Wan gathered the HKU musicians and reached out to seek collaboration opportunities.

Wan (left) led the performance at the Jockey Club Home for Hospice.

The music enthusiast, who has also been an orchestra teacher, realized a phenomenon that many students could not afford to take music lessons or play any instruments.

Wan thus worked with Care Action, a government-registered charity that aims to improve the quality of life of the community, to identify and establish links with a variety of service targets, including both primary school students and the elderly.

Throughout the project, Wan and the other HKU musicians have successfully completed a total of five performances, each of which catered to specific service targets.

Wan conducted the performance at SKH St. Matthew's Primary School.

Organizing orchestra performances outside of a concert hall was a challenging task for Wan.

He noted that the primary school's performance location was a tiny indoor school hall with limited space for the band members to arrange their instruments, especially the percussionists. Wan thus talked to the school staff and was able to bring in a total of 30 band members and about 200 students to the hall. The school also helped by running a live broadcast for the pupils in the classroom.

Wan also mentioned that other organization centres have their own activity schedule, which is typically on weekdays and conflicts with the band members' class schedules. However, he saw it as a mixed blessing since it provided more HKU musicians the chance to experience using their musical talents to serve the community.

Wan gathered with his members at the Caritas Elderly Centre-Lai Kok.

Yet, performing to varied audiences helped Wan develop a new perspective on music.

“As a classically trained musician, I care a lot about the proper etiquette for classical concerts, like we expect people to stay still and be quiet while watching our performance,” said Wan.

Wan initially felt uneasy when he observed some elderly people leaving the venue during the performance. He said, “I wonder if I made them feel bored but later I found that they actually need to walk for a while as a type of relaxation exercise.”

“Now I realize that etiquette is not something that matters the most, instead, I focus more on genuine music and whether the music can make the audiences feel touched,” said Wan.

After interacting with the elderly from various care homes, Wan can relate better to the objective of the Jockey Club Home for Hospice, where he stressed that "With the right care and support, we can help people live their best life at the end of life.”

“I hope people can pay more attention to the elderly as well as those who are leaving us,” he added.

Even though the project has already come to an end, Wan remains self-motivated in reaching out to different collaboration organizations with the hope of making the project a regular and reachable one for the community.

“I believe in the transformative power of music, bringing people together and creating a sense of unity that transcends boundaries of age, background, and experience,” Wan emphasized.