All of us have had childhood dreams, but in a city like Hong Kong, not many of us ever end up pursuing them, much less achieve them. But for Alex Chung, who spent most of his early years in Po Leung Kuk and subsequently the hostels of HKSAS, he’s never been more motivated. Ever since he was a child, he had immense passion for music, something that his grandmother helped him discover.

“When I was very young, my grandmother gifted me a harmonica. Of course, I didn’t know how to play it properly or what I was even doing, but I just kept experimenting with it anyway and I enjoyed it so much. That’s when I realised I really enjoyed music.”

Though his sister had attended piano lessons as a child, Alex tells me his family couldn’t afford to pay for the both of them, and so he’d simply tag along and watch his sister play, trying to learn as much as he could from a distance.

This passion eventually led him to teach himself how to play the instrument, through platforms like YouTube, where there are now plenty of tutorials and demonstrations. “I’ve never been very good in school, but I really love music, so I worked very hard to practice the piano, learn music theory and train my voice,” he tells me. “I’d wake up every morning at 6am to practice the piano and compose music. I’d do it all day until I went to bed again at night.” Fortunately for him, he now has the funding from his school to attend formal lessons, which he began just last year.

To further support his growth and achieve his dream, r é n came together with renowned producer Adam Diaz and his mother Christine Samson – a seasoned veteran in vocal training who counts Joey Yung among others as her students – to provide Alex with a recording session in a Sheung Wan studio as well as several vocal lessons.

“The studio experience was really fun!” Alex shares with a grin. “I’ve still got two more sessions with Christine and Adam, and I’m really looking forward to it. She saw my musical notebooks and all the effort I put in, so she was very happy to work with me as well. I learned a lot about singing with Christine, and I’m looking forward to recording my own composition with her and Adam soon!”