As an ardent advocate for choral education among the new generation in Hong Kong, Kelvin Lau is widely recognised for his work in promoting choral music and education. Over the years, he has been a driving force in the choral development of the school community in Hong Kong.
In 2011, Kelvin founded The Hong Kong Virtuoso Chorus (HKVC), a registered charitable organisation. Under his leadership, HKVC has not only won numerous awards in local and international competitions but has also garnered support from the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, and various foundations and corporations. HKVC is committed to promoting music education through diverse activities as part of its mission to combine art and social responsibility. In 2018, under Kelvin’s leadership, HKVC established the highly acclaimed Hong Kong Inter-School Choral Festival (HKICF), and he has served as its Artistic Director since. Breaking traditional boundaries, the festival hosts competitions in the form of masterclasses, providing a novel interactive learning platform for primary and secondary students and comprehensive professional development support for music teachers. Over the past eight years, HKICF has seen participation from over 300 schools and more than 100,000 attendees, making it the city’s largest annual choral event.
In recent years, Kelvin has focused on “training the trainers.” In the 2023–2024 academic year, he was invited by the Po Leung Kuk Committee of Promotion of Music Education and the TWGHs Kitty Woo Music and Art Development Centre to host workshops for 40 primary schools under these two organisations, benefiting over 100 frontline music teachers. For the 2025–2027 academic years, Kelvin has been appointed as the Primary Music Consultant for Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs). He will spearhead a two-year “Music Teaching Support Scheme” for 15 TWGHs primary schools to help optimise their school-based music curricula.
Kelvin is also active on the international stage as a founding member of the World Choral Conducting Network, and has been invited to conduct, coach or adjudicate in the United States, Spain, Norway, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, and Mainland China. In 2019, he was a guest conductor for the Toronto Children’s Chorus Summer Camp. In 2022, he served as a judge for the “Voices in Bloom” International Singing Competition in Malaysia. Since 2023, he has been a frequent adjudicator and workshop clinician for the Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod, and at the end of last year, he served as a judge for the Surabaya World Choral Festival in Indonesia. Kelvin was recently appointed by the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) as an Administrative Committee member for the World Symposium on Choral Music 2026.
Earlier in his career, during his tenure as the Music Director of Diocesan Girls’ Junior School, Kelvin implemented curriculum reforms, including the introduction of interdisciplinary learning, grade-level choirs, and instrumental appreciation programmes. He also led the school choir in collaborations with various arts groups for major performances, such as the opening concert of the 2019 Asia Pacific Choral Summit, earning high praise from international experts. Under his baton, students achieved outstanding results at the PPA Online Music Festival, the Asia Pacific Choral Summit, and the Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod.
An alumnus of The Hong Kong Children’s Choir (HKCC), Kelvin has served as an HKCC conductor for nearly two decades since 2007. His composition Till We Meet Again was selected to be published in the HKCC 50th Anniversary Children’s Choral Composition Selections. Other popular choral compositions of his include The Fire, The Green Field, and Pencil.
Beyond conducting and composing, Kelvin is a versatile presenter and performer. He hosts the online programme “Note-Worthy Chats” for HKVC and has been invited to perform as a singer or serve as emcee for events under the Hong Kong Palace Museum Showtime Programme at the West Kowloon Cultural District. He has also served as a lead vocalist or vocal coach for numerous advertisements, including Watsons Water, McDonald’s, Ocean Park, Link REIT, Häagen-Dazs, and Hong Kong Airlines.
Last year, Kelvin was invited by the Plaza Premium Group to establish its first corporate choir and serves as its inaugural Choral Director. He conducts the choir at the Hong Kong Chapter and serves as a consultant for the Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Chapter, further promoting choral music in the corporate sector both locally and abroad.
Kelvin graduated, summa cum laude, from Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, where he was awarded the Berklee Achievement Scholarship. He subsequently earned a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and a Master’s Degree in International Education from the University of Sunderland in the United Kingdom.
