Bulletin No. 1, 2019

Asians in the European operatic scene cannot be overstated. Auditioning at European theatres was a test of both ability and will. Louise recalled: ‘Whenever I got an invitation to audition, I’d promptly book the flights and hotel and make arrangement for transportation and meals, at my own expense of course. On the second day of arrival, I’d arrive at the theatre on time with food, water and a mattress. A five or six hours’ wait was followed by five minutes’ performance. Then I went home and waited for the news.’ Last year, Louise beat 300 competitors to become the first one from Hong Kong to be appointed soprano for the ‘Fabbrica’ Young Artist Program at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, which does not usually appoint a woman under 30 or a man under 32. She was 31 when she was appointed, which could count as an exceptional achievement. Where to after the contract is over? Louise mused, ‘Maybe to Germany. It’s going through an operatic boom. Whether 30 or 60, I think I’ll keep on singing.’ Prof. Li Lianjiang of the Department of Government and Public Administration once wrote that scholars belong to the spiritual class of elites. It’s both good and difficult to be a scholar, for scholarship is a privilege that comes with a mission. Upon graduation, Tommy Kwan chose to follow the footsteps of the scholars he admired to lead a life of learning and travelling. He said, ‘While still a student, I interned at a publishing house and came into contact with some distinctive works in the humanities and the social sciences. I had also worked at the current affairs programmes at RTHK. Such experience made me realize I prefer to analyse politics from a researcher’s and observer’s point of view and to publish my views.’ Tommy is now studying for a PhD in London. But he’s not staying all the time in London and had gone to do fieldwork in Taiwan, stopping over now in Germany. To drift along in pursuit of scholarship has always been like fighting a one-man battle. He remarked, ‘PhD research is a long and drawn-out process. It’s easy to lose one’s focus and direction. We must try our best to know what we’re doing and to discipline ourselves.’ There should be more than just studying in a postgraduate student’s life. One of Tommy’s diversions is to write. From political commentaries at the beginning to the penning of his thoughts and life’s memorable episodes in a newspaper, Tommy sees writing as a way of having a dialogue with himself. If he cannot write, he surmised, he ‘may have to speak incessantly.’ In March, he published his articles in book form— learning from solitude . A youth with literary aspirations, Tommy knows a few things about classical music, football and whiskey as well. When he travelled to the small island off the coast of Scotland famous for its single malt, he saw with keen eyes the place and the people there and even noted an anecdote of Prince Charles. When he stayed in Bloomsbury, he conjured up what its heyday must have been like with inhabitants such as Virginia Woolf and John Maynard Keynes. Tommy is a scholar who learns from his solitude. 2009 BA in Music Chung Chi College Louise Kwong b. 1987 2015 BSSc in Government and Public Administration Chung Chi College Tommy Kwan b. 1993 The Golden Jubilee. The Millennials. 21