EPOULOGUE Parley: Francis Kan and The Music That Time Never Erased

Memory has a sound. Sometimes it arrives softly — a melody drifting through a café, a voice on the radio, a song your parents hummed without realising you were listening. And sometimes, it returns in full orchestral bloom.

For Hong Kong–born conductor Francis Kan, music has always existed in this emotional space between memory and discovery. Raised in a city where East and West mingled with effortless rhythm — where the dramatic brilliance of Anita Mui could share the airwaves with the new-wave glamour of Culture Club — Kan grew up absorbing a world of sound without borders. Classical symphonies, pop ballads and Chinese opera all became part of the same musical bloodstream.

His journey from a wide-eyed six-year-old attending a symphonic concert to the international podium has been shaped by curiosity, discipline and an almost cinematic sense of musical storytelling. After rigorous training at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and later the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, Kan’s vision of music only expanded — not as rigid categories, but as a shared language capable of crossing generations, cultures and time itself.

Now he returns to Malaysia to lead the celebrated Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Symphony of Memories: A Journey Through Mandarin Classics on 28 March 2026 — an evening designed to sweep audiences through the golden decades of Mandarin song.

This is not merely a concert. It is a time machine in symphonic form. Beloved melodies from the 1970s to the early 2000s will rise once more — richer, grander, and carried by the emotional power of a full orchestra. For some, it will feel like opening a treasured photo album. For others, it will be a dazzling discovery of songs that shaped generations.

In this intimate conversation with EPOULOGUE, Kan reflects on the moments that ignited his calling, the mentors who shaped his craft, and why music — in its purest form — remains one of the most powerful ways we remember who we are.

For our readers encountering you for the first time, who is Francis Kan, in the normal life beyond the baton and the podium?

Beyond my musical life, I enjoy good food and love spending time with my family and friends.

Do you recall the precise moment or age when music ceased to be a pastime and became a calling?

I was inspired by my family when I was 6 years old. A friend who was a wonderful violinist invited me to attend a symphonic concert where he was the concertmaster.

You grew up in an era where East met West with rare fluency where Culture Club shared airtime with Anita Mui. How did that cultural duality shape your musical sensibility and intellectual curiosity?

I’m lucky to grow up in such culture background where East meets West. That’s why I enjoy not only classical music but also pop music and even Chinese Opera

Conducting is as much vocation as profession. When did you sense that you were destined not merely to play music, but to lead it and eventually collaborating with orchestras such as the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra?

I think this feeling occurs to me when I was around 17 years old.

Before entering the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, were you already steeped in classical discipline or did your formal immersion begin there?

I received my professional training when I entered Academy of Performing Arts.

As a young musician, whose artistry did you quietly study, emulate or perhaps even rebel against?

I was lucky to study with wonderful teachers such as Thomas Wang, Wing Sze Yip, Abraham Skernick David Takeno and of course Maestro Sergiu Comissiona. I respect and cherish all I’ve learned from them.

You trained at both the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. What were the most palpable differences between studying at home and abroad? In what ways did Guildhall sharpen your artistic rigour and conducting philosophy?

My sight in music was incredibly widened during my time in Guildhall.

You served as a conducting intern with the Asian Youth Orchestra, an ensemble known for its pan-Asian spirit. How formative was that experience in shaping your global perspective?

It was one of the most valuable experiences in my life and it was my privilege to be given the opportunity.

After your internship and your triumph at the International Competition for Young Conductors in Portugal, what was the first major concerto you conducted? And how did it feel to shoulder that magnitude of responsibility for the first time?

My first concert was conducting the Beethoven 8th Symphony in Romania with the Radio Orchestra and I enjoyed it very much.

Having worked with both Western ensembles such as the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra and Asian orchestras like the MPO, have you observed distinct temperaments, rehearsal cultures or interpretative approaches between them?

The most important thing is communication, that is one of the very important skills of a conductor, to be able to communicate with the orchestra in the most sufficient way.

Across your career, which moments on the podium remain indelibly etched in your memory, instances when music transcended craft and became something almost metaphysical?

One of the concerts was in Budapest when I conducted the Bruckner 6th Symphony with such great acoustic and great music. There were moments I thought I glimpsed the light from heaven.

Turning to Malaysia, how do you perceive the nation’s musical landscape today, particularly the public’s relationship with symphonic music?

I think the MPO is doing a great job of promoting different styles of music to its audience.

Do you believe music should ever be categorised by age, class or demographic?

Music has no boundaries.

In an increasingly STEM-driven education system, how vital is sustained musical education through secondary school and what does society risk losing without it?

Music is a vital part of education; learning how to appreciate music is learning how to appreciate the beauty of the universe.

For your upcoming concert with the MPO, could you offer our readers a glimpse into the spirit and architecture of this programme?

Just come and you’ll find out 😁

As a Hong Kong-born conductor, how personal is your connection to Mandarin classics? Are these songs woven into your own biography?

I love nostalgia, not only in Mandarin also Cantonese and English.

Do you regard Mandarin classics as a distinct genre with its own musical grammar, or are they simply part of the broader popular music continuum, distinguished only by language?

Mandarin classics is popular throughout the world.

With a stellar Malaysian line-up such as Janet Lee, Izen Kong, Layla Sania and Daniel Cheah, what emotional and musical experience can audiences anticipate beyond nostalgia?

It will be like taking a ride back in time.

In a concert rooted in beloved songs, arrangement becomes a delicate art. How do you reinterpret these works symphonically without diluting their original emotional integrity?

Of course, we’ll follow the original as much as we can but at the same time, there is space for all these wonderful singers to interpret with their own flair.

The repertoire spans the 1970s to the early 2000s, a rich arc in Mandarin pop history. Which era resonates most intimately with you and why?

As l mention before, I love nostalgia songs.

What do you hope audiences will carry home from this evening beyond melodies and memories?

I sincerely hope the audiences would bring home great satisfaction and music that touches they hearts.

After your debut with the MPO last year, how does it feel to come back to Malaysia to conduct again and what do you think of the MPO?

It is my privilege to be invited back to make music again with the wonderful MPO which has a very high standard and great professionalism.

Catch Symphony of Memories: A Journey Through Mandarin Classics on 28 March 2026, 8.00pm at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS, and be mesmerised by the melifluous melange of great voices by renowned Malaysian talents such as Janet Lee, Izen Kong, Layla Sania and Daniel Cheah, seremading the audience with classic Mandarin repertoires from the 1970s to the early 2000s, backed by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO), under Kan’s helm.

For tickets and further information, visit mpo.com.my today.

*Photos courtesy of Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS.