Shortly afterwards, the HKMA Orchestra held two street shows organized within a very short notice on May 18 and May 23 upon request from the World Vision Hong Kong 香港宣明會 and Dr Kwok Ka Ki, with our HKMA official contribution.

The first street show took place in a Causeway Bay pedestrian area on a Sunday afternoon, only 6 days after the initial earthquake. We had a string ensemble performance for about an hour. The response was amazing and people lined up to put money into the donation box.

The second street show was in a Mongkok pedestrian area on a Friday evening. We had a double string quartet for the performance. This Mongkok pedestrian area was a fascinating experience. It was so congested that we could hardly breathe.

We were initially concerned that the response would be less enthusiastic as it was 11 days from the earthquake and people were getting fatigue from the donation bombardment. In that evening there were also several orgainsations holding donation booths. Our worry soon melted away after we set up the donation box. Money kept pouring in and our music dominated the scene. Dr Kwok Ka Ki also arranged a candle light tribute to the victims.

We were all overwhelmed by the sadness with the earthquake, yet proud of the enthusiastic of donation from Hong Kong people towards the relief effort. I must thank Dr Alvin Chan Yee Shing, Dr Chow Pak Chin and Dr Tse Hung Hing for their participation and donation. A special thank goes to Dr Chan Moon Cheung who gathered a sum of $75,000 for the Mongkok evening.

Written by Dr. Charles Wong