HKAPA has come a long way, from a tertiary institution with fewer than 300 students to what's now Asia's top-ranked performing-arts academy, with an enrolment of more than 1,000. The rise comes thanks to diligent staff who have maintained strong academic standards and contributed to the Academy's development in many ways over the past four decades. Associate Dean of the School of Music Professor Clarence Mak and production-management specialist Wendy Mak are two such veterans who have grown alongside the Academy. Looking back at their long careers, both feel fortunate to have found the key to true happiness in their jobs.
Prof. Clarence Mak: Rare Focus on Creativity
"In the past, the majority of artists performing at the Hong Kong Arts Festival came from overseas," notes Professor Clarence Mak, the Associate Dean of the School of Music and the Head of Composition and Electronic Music. "But over the years, the proportion of local artists has steadily grown, and many of them are now Academy graduates. The Academy has been a trailblazer in the training of local performing artists."
Professor Mak is one of the Academy's earliest pioneers. Known endearingly as "Little Teacher Mak", the modest professor is much-loved by his students.
Clarence had been a student of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). After graduation, he furthered his studies in the United States, where he learnt electronic music. Upon returning to Hong Kong, he joined the Academy as a lecturer in music, helping to establish an electronic music studio. He now heads the Department of Composition and Electronic Music.
He believes that the uniqueness of the music programme lies in its areas of specialisation. What's more, while CUHK and The University of Hong Kong also offer composition, the discipline forms a greater part of the Academy programme.
"In a student's four years here, they compose at least 15 or 16 works, and give public performances of each of them," Clarence says. "This is rare even for music academies overseas."
Composing Commemorative Music
Music students both get to perform at Academy events and also have the opportunity to feature in external performances. Clarence still remembers how the School of Music was invited to take part in the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the grande dame of the city's hotels, The Peninsula Hong Kong.
"We selected 10 composition students, and had each of them write a short piece in a different style," Clarence recalls. These works were performed at concerts held at both the Academy and The Peninsula, with Professor Anthony J. Camden as conductor, then also Dean of the School of Music.
"All the pieces were compiled in the hotel's 75th anniversary commemorative album," Clarence continues. The 10 participating students received scholarships from the hotel, as well as free meals and lodging for a day, with the two winning students staying in the presidential suite. Clarence jokes, "My only regret was that teachers weren't given prizes!"
In 2003, the Hong Kong Observatory celebrated its 120th anniversary. To mark the occasion, composition students wrote a commemorative piece titled Through Changing Climes and Times that was subsequently performed at the Hong Kong Observatory. "We had a lot of discussions with the students in the process of putting the piece together, and there were many revisions," Clarence explains. "We were extremely busy, but very happy."
Keeping the Creative Juices Flowing
Over the years, many musicians have benefited from Clarence's tutelage. His former students include pop composers, classical composers, accompanists for film and television, music lecturers at universities, and artists pursuing careers in Europe.
"It is gratifying to see students working hard for what they care passionately about," Clarence says. "I often tell them, don't stop composing after you graduate. Follow your heart, but do not set yourself against your environment and circumstance. For instance, if you're a secondary school teacher, you can lead a great choir and write wonderful choral works. However, if you insist on writing electronic music and nothing else, you're fighting your circumstance to your own detriment. It will bring you a lot of pain."
The government has drawn up a blueprint for the development of cultural and creative industries. Clarence expects the Academy and the School of Music to act as cradles of performing-arts talent.
"Our approach has always been student-centred," he notes. "The Academy invests the greater part of its resources on students, providing them with plentiful performance opportunities. This facilitates their growth and learning as artists."
He believes that the Academy encourages what he calls "blooming diversity", something he sees as both an ideology and an approach. "I've attended plenty of concerts, including ones playing non- classical and non-mainstream experimental music," he explains. "Many of my graduated students are creating this type of music. I think it's rewarding to connect listeners through a variety of musical styles. Opening minds and growing the listenership expand the forms that art and culture can take in a city. With this expansion come more opportunities for our graduates."
Wendy Mak: Wonderful Work Setting
Wendy Mak is another pioneer, someone who joined the Academy in 1988, and is now the Executive Assistant for production. Despite her 37 years of service to the Academy, her memories of her early days here are still fresh.
"I had two job offers at the time," she recalls. One position was at a publisher of commercial magazines, the other serving as a production assistant at the Academy's School of Technical Arts. "I was more drawn to the latter," she explains. "The job appealed to me more, and the new campus was very attractive."
Though the Academy's structure has evolved over the years, Wendy' s job and department have remained unchanged. She assists the production manager with paperwork, accounting and props. "I've worked with seven production managers since joining," she says. "I've been lucky to have been on friendly terms with all of them."
The earlier managers were all from overseas, and remained in that position for four to six years. "Westerners tend to be more chill but they work just as hard as locals," she says. "They just appear to be more relaxed."
The "09-23" Challenge
Stage production is known for its long working hours. Though Wendy's job doesn't require her to toil from 9 am to 11 pm, the so-called "09-23" challenge, she can feel the pressure that students face.
"I think students in the past were more mature," she says. "Some may have worked for a while before coming to the Academy to resume their studies, unlike the majority of students now who enter university right after high school and hence behave more like kids." She notes that in stage production, the students take care of everyone and everything both onstage and backstage. "Their plates and hands are full, often still sending emails in the middle of the night," she adds.
The campus that once drew Wendy to her first job is still very attractive. As tends to be true wherever you are in Hong Kong, though, the site suffers from a shortage of space. "The Academy's forte is that its students benefit from the availability of multiple performance venues," Wendy says. But storage space in particular is in short supply. "This is a problem we need to grapple with," she says.
Her friends occasionally ask Wendy whether she gets to meet movie stars. Though that may not be an everyday occurrence, one of Wendy's most unforgettable experiences is bumping into her idol on campus.
"One time the Artiste Training Alumni Association was staging a musical at the Academy, and the actors came to check out the venue," she recalls. "Our office back then was right by the dressing room. All of a sudden, (movie star) Chow Yun-fat walked past, and he actually looked inside! I'm a big fan of his – I even had posters of him up in my office. So of course I asked for his autograph and a picture together. I was ecstatic!"
Wendy has dedicated herself to the same career for decades. But has she ever considered changing track? She laughs. Why would she? "The pressure is acceptable, and I get along beautifully with my colleagues," she says. Most importantly, though, "I'm happy at work every single day!" The key to a long and successful career, she feels, is to find a job that truly fulfils you, and makes you happy.