“Music brings joy. Music is like gum water gluing the pieces and the broken ones.” This is the only phrase that I could remember written on the application form for the Chapter Ten Mentorship Programme. This phrase came up in my mind in response to what Mee Kam had mentioned in the Hong Kong Future Pioneers 2019, organized by the HKSAROSU, “Public space is essential in the community, not only do children need such space, so do adults. By providing recreational space to everyone to use, citizens can extend their living space for fun and leisure. Having spaces for fun is like gum water gluing people from different backgrounds, and bringing joy, which is essential in this critical moment.”
I was very grateful to get involved in the Chapter Ten Mentorship Programme. Apart from gaining this precious opportunity of having face-time with Mee Kam, I was also able to interact with the Youde Scholars, especially Mr V (Mr Vivek Mahbubani) who shared his experience of “embracing uniqueness” and “impromptu” to me, and Ms Emily Wong who brought up a conversation linking medical science and music.
I have received a special email titled “Hello :)” from Mee Kam at night around 11:00pm on the day before I officially notified as a mentee from SEYSA. Ha ha~ Mee Kam had a head start over. I was on cloud nine with surprise, and reply to her immediately. I greeted her as “Prof. Ng” in the following emails, and she hearteningly responded, “Call me Mee Kam!”.
The time we spent together was taken up by technology with the screen in between – it was a hard time to meet up over the past half year. On the first time we met, Mee Kam was very heartwarming, and taught me how to use the online conference platform (as my school haven’t started e-learning yet, Mee Kam guided me for a tutorial) And then I shared my music works, with many in-depth questions asked by Mee Kam, related to my creative process, my future career, and my beliefs. The most important is, she guided me not to be restricted in your expertise – although I told her that the path of music was quite narrow, she enlightened me and said “Messages that can touch one’s heart are usually voiced out by the artists.” – where music unleashes her own values in different fields. She was aware that I usually linked up with matters from different fields in my compositions and encouraged me to gain exposure outside the music world, even like public administration which I was interested in, so that I can integrate them into my expertise, to acknowledge the other self of me, as well as record and response to this contemporary.
At first, I was wondering why I would be chosen as Mee Kam’s mentee, as I am an “artist”, as a “musician”, apparently there is no any direct relationship with “urban studies”, Mee Kam’s expertise. Maybe it is the quote I written on the application form - “Music is glum water, gluing the broken pieces together.” – reminds me how music can create a harmonious and joyful space in the community, as music is boundless, and breaking cultural barriers, time limits and standpoints. This is what I would like to discuss with Mee Kam when we meet.
I would also like to thank Kiu, our facilitator. She forgives me as I always carelessly typed the wrong meeting dates, and had face-time with us on Saturday from work.
Although six months had been passed, it does not represent the end of our Chapter Ten mentorship programme. Hopefully we can meet up in a vegetarian restaurant when the virus is gone.
當日遞交 Chapter Ten 的申請表，我只記得我寫上「音樂能帶來快樂，是膠水，能修補社會的裂痕。」這句話是對應半年前我參加「港傑．港未來」時，美琴導師在閉幕詞提及：「公共社區空間很重要，不是小朋友需要玩樂的公間，大人也需要，因為玩樂是膠水，能黏合不同的人，也能帶來快樂，在這個時刻是十分需要的。」
我很感恩參與 Chapter Ten 師友計劃，可以再次與美琴導師談天，並在開幕禮與一眾尤德學者交流，特別是阿V (Mr Vivek Mahbubani) 向我分享「不要作別人的倒模，擁抱自己獨特之處」和「即興表現」的看法，以及Ms Emily Wong 同我們分享音樂與醫學的關連。
收到尤德學者協會的通知的前一天，美琴導師已「早先一步」在夜晚十一點給我一封電子郵件，題為「Hello :)」，當時我又驚又喜，趕快回覆。其後好幾次的電子郵件我都是稱她「Prof. Ng」，她爽朗回答「Call me Mee Kam!」。
我與美琴是隔著電腦螢幕見面，因為過去的半年都是比較難約出來。第一次見面，美琴導師很親切，而且教授我使用會議軟體的功能（當時我學校還未開始網上學習，美琴預先和我實習了）。其後我分享了我的音樂作品，美琴導師很深入問了我的創作意念，再深入探討了未來的職業方向、還有信仰。更重要的是，她引導我不要把自己的專業限制，縱使我向她提及讀音樂的路很窄，她點明了音樂在不同的領域也能發揮其價值，並說「有很多觸動人心的信息，也有藝術家的參與」。她察覺我創作的作品與不同的領域有關連，鼓勵我多接觸音樂以外的知識，甚至我感興趣的政治和行政學，因為把不同的知識融入自己的專業，能發掘自己的另一面，也能對當下的時代作出一個記錄及回應。
當初我想著為何美琴導師會揀選我，因為我是一個「藝術家」，一個「音樂人」，與她的專業「城市研究」沒有太大關係。可能是「音樂是膠水，能修補破碎的關係」這句吧，因為這一句讓我反思音樂如何在社會締造一個和諧、快樂的空間，而音樂是沒有隔膜，也能穿梭不同的時空、語言和立場，這是我很希望下次和美琴導師討論！
我也要謝謝 Kiu，我們的 Facilitator，她包容了常常打錯會面日期的我，及星期六工作的時間也抽空與我們隔著營幕見面。
這半年時間過去了，並不代表 Chapter Ten 也完結。待新型肺炎過去了，我們再約在一間素食餐廳聚會。
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