Mr Frank LEE, Chairman of the Board of Trustees(2007-2013)

Mr Frank LEE has served on the Board of Trustees of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund (the Fund) for more than ten years.  He briefly introduced the history of the Fund, saying that the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) proposed to the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) in 1977 to make a donation for the purpose of promoting local music training.  An annual funding was then allocated to the HAB for the award of scholarships starting from the same year.  In 1980, the Fund was formally set up with a donation of $10 million from the HKJC.  Due to an increasing demand for support from the Fund, the HKJC injected a further sum of $22 million into the Fund in 1994.     

The objective of the Fund is to promote local education and training in music and dance.  The Fund awards scholarships every year to talented young musicians and dancers for them to pursue music or dance studies at world-renowned institutions overseas.   

He added that members of the Board of Trustees came from different sectors, including musicians and dancers, members of the cultural, education and business sectors, as well as representatives from the HAB and the HKJC.  Despite their diverse backgrounds, all members were actively involved in the Board's affairs and making dedicated efforts in promoting local education and training in music and dance.     

Mr LEE said that the most unforgettable thing during his service with the Fund was to witness a number of scholarship awardees to shine in international competitions, which was an honour to both themselves and Hong Kong.  Mr LEE was also pleased to see young artists to realize their dreams, perform in the world stage and share with us their artistic accomplishments after studies.  They also helped nurture the next generation and make Hong Kong a cultural hub in Asia.

Due to the limited resources of the Fund, only a handful of outstanding young artists would be granted the scholarship each year.  He appealed to people and organisations of different sectors to give support to the Fund so that more local talent would be nurtured and more gifted young people could benefit from the Fund.

Finally, Mr LEE hoped that, on the 30th anniversary of the Fund, all scholarship recipients who had achieved excellence in their respective professions could be united to promote local culture and arts and nurture more artistic talent, thereby giving Hong Kong a flourishing arts scene in both music and dance.