Adelaide calling

Douglas Gautier, CEO and artistic director of Adelaide Festival Centre.[Photo provided to China Daily]

After he graduated from Flinders University, he joined the South Australian Theatre Company. Then he was awarded a scholarship to attend the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Britain, studying media and stage arts. In 1977, he joined the BBC as a music and arts producer in London.

In 1979, the BBC was recruiting someone to work with Radio Television Hong Kong for a six-month attachment. Gautier did not know where it would lead but was just keen to do that. He moved to Hong Kong.

To prepare for the job, he started meeting people who were interested in Asian music and seeing things that he'd never seen before, such as Chinese opera, and his interest was piqued.

At first, the music and arts channel of Radio Television Hong Kong was all in English and it primarily broadcast Western classical music. Gautier suggested making the channel bilingual and printing the program in English and Cantonese.

He could not leave Hong Kong after six months: He felt not only that Western classical music was fully embraced by young people in Hong Kong, Chinese mainland, South Korea and Japan, but that there was much to learn from the home cultures of Asia since they were going through an extraordinary period.

In 1979, Willy Tsao founded the City Contemporary Dance Company in Hong Kong and served as artistic director. Gautier produced contemporary productions choreographed by Tsao.

Gautier's love for Hong Kong and Asian culture made him stay for 25 years, holding several key positions including director of corporate affairs for Star TV, deputy executive director of the Hong Kong Tourist Board and executive director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

He married a Chinese woman and they have two girls who speak perfect Cantonese. Hong Kong has become his second home.