Conductor Perry So
Despite being only 27 years old, local conductor Perry So will take up the baton for the upcoming Hong Kong Philharmonic performance of “Project Wagner.” The young musician talks to Sophia Chan about injuries, stalkers and divine notes.
HK Magazine: How does it feel, making it big at such a young age and being called a prodigy?
Perry So: I try not to let it distract me. I read the papers from time to time, but it’s my family who get very excited whenever an article comes out. I think it’s important to keep a level head because I am incredibly young, and there is still so much to learn. In this business, becoming great takes decades rather than years, so I am very conscious that there have been many great composers doing this job before me.
HK: Do you have to keep in shape, seeing as your job involves a lot of strenuous movement?
PS: I went for a 40-minute run this morning and felt winded pretty quickly, probably because the only exercise I got all summer was moving into our new apartment. There is an expression I love, which calls musicians the “athletes of the small muscle.” I think it describes really well what we do, because conducting for five hours a day is hard work, since the human body is not designed for this kind of stress.
HK: Do you ever get recognized on the street?
PS: I’ve been recognized more times in Russia than in Hong Kong. Last time was when I had just won a competition in St. Petersburg; these five people recognized me and came over when I was at the airport.
HK: What about religion? Do you believe in God?
PS: My family was Christian and I was pretty serious about religion as a teenager, although I was more attracted to the traditional, Catholic side of it. However, now I think that an image of some old dude, sitting up there and listening to prayers, really belies the limits of imagination. I do believe there’s something bigger, although I’m not a practicing religious person, but I also believe that art is one way to experience the divine. Hence, to a certain extent I feel like I commune with the divine on a regular basis, which is pretty exhilarating.