Mr. Thomas Yau Sam Wang

Thomas Yau Sam Wang, born September 13, 1933 in Shanghai, China, died peacefully on April 14, 2022 at age 89. He was born to an engineer father and pianist mother. Following his mother’s footsteps, he practiced the piano, but fell in love and began studying the violin at age 9. After high school, he entered the St. John’s University, Shanghai, studying civil engineering. After his freshman year, he was taken ill with tuberculosis and was forced to take a break from his studies. One year later, after recovering from his illness, he decided to pursue music and entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to study violin performance. It was there that he met Mabel Yeuk Ho Hung, and the relationship developed into a 56-year marriage, until Mabel’s passing in 2017.

After graduating, Thomas began performing with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in 1956, and taught at the Conservatory of Music until 1962, when he moved to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, he conducted the school orchestra at Diocesan Boys’ School and continued teaching violin. In 1970, Thomas became the first Chinese violinist to receive a fellowship from the Trinity College of Music London in Hong Kong. In 1971, he decided to go to London and Switzerland to further his studies in violin performance and teaching. After returning to Hong Kong, he continued leading the Diocesan Boys’ School orchestra. In 1978, he was invited to join the newly established Music Office as Senior Training Officer, and later became Assistant Music Administrator (Professional). He helped the Office promote music education for all in Hong Kong and trained numerous young musicians as conductor of the Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra. While juggling his work at the Music Office, he continued to teach violin, leading his students to win various awards, including numerous times the prestigious Radio Television Hong Kong Young String Player of the Year Award.

Thomas retired and moved to Richmond, BC in 1991 with his family, but his love and passion for music urged him to continue serving the music community. With encouragement from the Lieutenant Governor of BC at the time, The Honourable David Lam, he founded the BC Sinfonietta in 1992, and later founded the British Columbia Chamber Orchestra in 1997. Under Thomas’s baton, the chamber orchestra gathered over 30 professional musicians and held concerts ever year until early 2010’s. Other than performing, Mabel and Thomas were devoted to support the community by raising funds for charity groups through the orchestra’s performances.

Thomas has always been a devoted Christian ever since his first trip to church when he was young. He was baptized in Shanghai in 1953 and attended the Pentecostal Mission Church, the Kowloon Tabernacle in Hong Kong. He continued to be active in the Christian community after moving to Richmond. In recent years, Thomas had been living in Richmond Lions Manor Residential Care. He passed away at the Richmond General Hospital after being hospitalized for treatment of a bone condition. He was thankful to all the staff at Lions Manor and was always immensely grateful for all his friends and students in Vancouver who have supported him, especially Gary and Amy, who continued to take good care of him during the pandemic.