The Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund (the Fund) was set up in 1980 with a donation of $10 million from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. The objectives of the Fund were to promote training and education in music and dance in Hong Kong by way of conferring scholarships to enable young musicians and dancers of outstanding calibre to pursue further studies in music and dance.
In addition to further injecting $22 million to the Fund in 1994, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust continued to support the development of music and dance in Hong Kong via the provision of three dedicated grants to the Fund in 2014, 2021 and 2023 respectively. The grants, totalling $37.7 million, also enabled the setting up of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund Awardees Association (the Awardees Association) to undertake a series of community initiatives to inspire and nurture the local arts scene.
By end of 2024, the Fund has awarded 388 scholarships amounting to about $92.41 million to young musicians and dancers of outstanding calibre.
Since its set up in 2016, the Awardees Association has organised a total of about 160 community projects, including music master classes, experience-sharing sessions, mentorship programmes and lunchtime concerts in collaboration with universities, online performances, gala performances, foyer performances, etc.
The Fund has now ceased accepting scholarship applications, and the remaining balance of the endowment will be returned to The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust by end of 2026.