At the Student of the Year 2025/26 awards ceremony, Gladys Lo Yu-yin captivated the audience with her heartfelt performance of “Huang Tu Qing (Affection for the Loess Plateau)”, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of bamboo beaters striking the strings of her yangqin.
“I believe in the power of music in connecting people,” said the 18-year-old graduate of Diocesan Girls’ School (DGS).
Lo has forged a unique path in traditional Chinese music, mastering the yangqin’s vibrant cascade of notes and the guqin’s meditative depth.
As a top pupil with strong time-management skills, the student – now studying medicine at the University of Hong Kong – has managed to balance her artistic and academic commitments.
She began yangqin lessons in Primary One after hearing her brother play the instrument, later taking on the guqin as well.
“Yangqin thrills me with its speed and sparkle – bamboo beaters flying, melodies that launch you outward. Guqin taught me stillness: quiet tones that demand breath, attention and inner feeling,” she said.
“I see the yangqin’s outward virtuosity and the guqin’s inward subtlety,” she said.
Despite the demands of secondary school, she dedicated around 10 hours each week to practice, viewing it as a way to relieve stress from her studies.
In Form Five, Lo and a small Chinese music group performed at the Zhuhai Scout Jamboree.
“Only a few of us went on stage at the outdoor venue. The atmosphere was quiet and somewhat bleak before we began. Both the audience and the performers shivered in the cold,” she recalled.
Then the music began to resonate – familiar Christmas carols blended seamlessly with modern songs.
“The crowd – scouts from Hong Kong and South Korea, mixed with mainland students – began to clap and follow our rhythm enthusiastically. Their response warmed us,” she said.
“In that exchange, the music healed homesickness and bridged cultures: we all shared the same joy.”
Her technical mastery earned her the DGS Instrumentalist of the Year award in 2024, as well as an international Gold Award in both the solo and ensemble categories at the Singapore International Yangqin Arts Festival in 2023.
“For the deep musicality of some complex pieces I work closely with my teacher; we dissect subtle dynamics and shape phrases together,” she said.
She uses mindset rituals to anchor herself: regulated breathing, visualising the scenes suggested by the melody and reminding herself that tempo and feeling must come from within.
“My focus shifted from chasing competition results to telling the music’s story; that change let me perform more naturally,” she said.
Two pieces remain her favourites: “Yao Shan Ye Hua (Night Tale of Yao Mountain)” and “Huang Tu Qing”.
“The beautiful melodies demand high technical skill, yet what captivates me is the stories behind them,” Lo said. The first story describes a romance between a female ghost and a man, while the second focuses on a mutual love for the highlands of north-central China.
Leadership emerged naturally from this artistic expression. As the Vice-Chairlady of the DGS Chinese Orchestra and the head of the yangqin and guqin sections, Lo uses her musical insight to offer practical support.
“I tailor advice to each student’s strengths and limits. For a junior who could project, I coached them to bring volume at key moments; for a quieter player I focused on steady tempo and phrasing,” she said.
Lo also helps organise coaching for young players in the Venture Scout Unit’s Chinese music group.
She has taken her music abroad, performing at the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands and representing Hong Kong at the 17th World Yanggeum Congress in Seoul in 2024. Her exposure to yangqin players overseas has expanded her artistic horizons.
“Seeing yangqin played on the street in Europe changed how I think about music. The contrast with formal concert settings at home is liberating,” Lo said.
“That spontaneity makes me realise that yangqin is not only a vehicle for tradition but a bridge to other styles and cultures.”
Balancing rigorous academics with intensive musical training has been a constant negotiation, yet Lo has found the two can nourish each other.
“I organise my life tightly – a clear timetable forces me to be focused and on target. [I must] finish homework [and] revise for tests, then I can give my remaining time fully to music,” she said.
Community service has sharpened her conviction about access to music. She believes hands-on workshops can spark lifelong interest.
“Through school service I tutored underprivileged students and saw how little they knew about Chinese music,” Lo said.
As she studies to become a doctor, she hopes to continue serving others.
Lo’s outstanding achievements in music earned her a finalist spot in the Performing Artist category of the 2025/26 Student of the Year Awards, organised by the South China Morning Post and solely sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Through every flying bamboo-beater strike and every quiet guqin note, she continues to tell stories that invite others to listen, connect and carry the music forward.
