Kelvin Lau is a choral conductor recognised for his dedicated work in promoting choral music and music education. He actively advocates for the development of choral education within the school community.
In 2011, Kelvin founded the Hong Kong Virtuoso Chorus (HKVC), a registered charitable organisation, and has since served as its conductor. Under his leadership, the HKVC strives to achieve its dual mission of artistic achievement and philanthropy. In addition to winning multiple awards in local and international competitions, the HKVC has collaborated with various NGOs in Hong Kong to launch educational initiatives. In 2018, the Hong Kong Inter-School Choral Festival (HKICF) was established and became the flagship programme of the HKVC, and Kelvin has served as its Artistic Director since then. The HKICF is well received by school choirs in Hong Kong due to its innovative and thoughtful approach of hosting competitions in the form of masterclasses and providing professional development support for music teachers. Over the last eight years, HKICF has served over 74,000 choristers and conductors from over 300 schools in the aggregate, making it the largest choral event in the city.
Kelvin’s focus in recent years has been “training the trainers” and helping schools develop choir programmes and enhance their classroom music lessons. In 2022 and 2023, he hosted workshops for 40 primary schools under the Po Leung Kuk Affiliated Primary School – Committee of Promotion of Music Education and TWGHs Kitty Woo Music and Art Development Centre, coaching over 100 frontline music teachers. Kelvin also serves as a music consultant to a number of other primary and secondary schools.
During Kelvin’s tenure as the Music Director of Diocesan Girls’ Junior School, he dedicated his efforts to promoting school music curriculum reform, including the introduction of interdisciplinary learning, class choir, and instrumental appreciation programs. He also led the Diocesan Girls’ Junior School Choir to collaborate with various arts groups and participate in several important performances, including a special appearance at the Asia Pacific Choral Summit 2019 Opening Concert, which earned high praise from choral experts worldwide. He also led students to receive awards from prestigious international choral festivals such as the PPA Online Music Festival, Asia Pacific Choral Summit, and Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod.
A founding member of the World Choral Conducting Network, Kelvin’s choral music career extends beyond Hong Kong, as he has conducted in the United States, Spain, Norway, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Korea and Mainland China. In 2019, he served as a visiting conductor for the Summer Camp of the Toronto Children’s Chorus. In 2022, Kelvin served as a judge for the Voices in Bloom International Singing Competition organised by the Young Choral Academy. Since 2023, he has been invited to serve as a judge for the Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod (MCE) multiple times. This year, he will also serve as a judge and workshop clinician at the Surabaya World Choral Festival in Indonesia. His engagements in 2023 included serving as a clinician in the MCE and a guest conductor for the Defrost Youth Choir in Norway.
Kelvin is an alumnus of The Hong Kong Children’s Choir (HKCC) and has worked as a HKCC tutor and conductor since 2007. One of his choral compositions, Till We Meet Again, was selected to be part of the HKCC 50th Anniversary Children’s Choral Composition Selections.
As a vocalist, Kelvin performed key roles in three HKCC musicals over the years, including Hong Kong Rocks, A Tale from the Magical Beanland, and King of Singers. He also hosted and performed in a number of concerts under the Hong Kong Palace Museum Showtime Programme at the West Kowloon Cultural District from 2022 to 2023, where he collaborated with various renowned musicians. Furthermore, Kelvin sang and / or coached in numerous jingle productions, including Watsons Water, McDonald’s, Ocean Park, LINK, Häagen-Dazs, and Hong Kong Airlines.
Kelvin graduated, summa cum laude, from Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, where he was awarded the Berklee Achievement Scholarship to complete his music degree. His passion for education led him to attain a Postgraduate Certificate in Education and a Master’s Degree in International Education from the University of Sunderland in the United Kingdom.
