Growing up, I must say I am a super good kid. No bad company, no average grades and no undue heartaches for my parents. Afterall, I've learnt to be ultimately responsible for the welfare of my younger siblings and I understood submission equals respect for my parents.
The only act of rebellion would be having my own beliefs. I had as a young child of about 7 heard the gospel at a playground and it struck a deep note deep within my soul. Somehow, i just believe that there is God and there is only one of it and that God created everything!!!!! Eventually in my early teens I rebelled against "being forced to hold joss sticks and burn incense papers and visiting temples where many would kneel to pray to idols fashioned by human beings themselves".
When I told my mum i wanted to be a Christian, she slapped me so hard on the cheeks that I bled and the taste of my own blood was most disgusting!!!! It was persecution so to speak. For a few years in my secondary school days I had every bible thrashed by my mum and every "friend" scrutinised including a Roger from TK Tech whom I had a crush on!!!! Roger had brought me to his church then Fishermen of Christ where I heard my first sermon in Mandarin. John 15. However, I had BBC to thank for the live worship and sermons broadcast that I often tune in to. Many christian friends in school also studied the bible and prayed with me during lunch. My faith only grew stronger and became more deep rooted through the years, after all, I am the type that commits to the path I had chosen.
Though my heartcry is always wanting to learn music and fine art, I did obtain the accountancy degree that my parents wanted much. In the 80s, its almost every parents' dream that their kids will go to university and become doctors, lawyers, accountants and engineers. Artistic development were not encouraged for fear that these pursuits would derail the plans to getting the all too necessary paper qualifications essential for financial and material well-being.
Sometimes I wished I had studied music, art and french in my youth instead of memorising loads of information which I had scarcely any passion in. Accountancy and math were the most challenging to me followed by the super dry legal studies. Notwithstanding the fact of my lack of passion, God enabled me to excel in my studies and make my parents proud. My only consolation lies in my own endless pursuits of art, music and french, largely self taught that made minute progress during the holidays.
Home-schooling Rachel allows us to help her develop in areas where she has passion. Even as I try to blog, at this very minute my beloved kid had proceed on to practice her violin after she had played on the piano, all on her own accord. Usually I would drop everything I do, except cooking and supervise her playing but today, I just decide to take a backseat, and "see" what her level of enthusiasm and self-motivation is like since she is not yet 5.
Indeed, she continues to amaze me being able to focus and be disciplined in what she does. She likes to attend classical concerts and recitals with me and had on more than one occasion told me that she want to be an artiste when she grows up. (both art and music). I know God our Father will bless her in every way. Amen
Monday, 26 October 2009
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Most Expensive Magazine Ever.
Hi all, today I bought THE most expensive magazine ever in my life. The Strad, special edition VIOLIN HEROES. Its S$34.90!!!!!
This special issue features exclusive interviews of some of my current favourite violinists Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Maxim Vengerov and Anne Sophie Mutter to name a few and that's not all, included are original articles as way back as 1896 concerning THEIR violin heroes like Eugene Ysaye, Issac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, George Enescu and Fritz Kreisler and more. GOD!!!! What a wonderful reference for my forever growing music library of cds, dvds, books and scores!!!!!!! How can any serious, aspiring violin student, youth or adult resist such a God send material!!!
I like to think about the "family tree", those stories of great teachers who not only passed on their formidable skills and imparted the passion of the art of violin playing. In fact, I had in my own library books after books on violin mastery. My favourite "teacher" is Leopold Auer who taught Efrem Zimbalist, Mischa Elman, Jasha Heifeitz (who looked a bit like my late grandpa who played the chinese violin or erhu) and Toscha Seidel amongst others and out of these famous players came many generations of well sought after teachers who are currently head and directors of many a conservatories.
Even my beloved David Garrett had had many great teachers. As a youth he learnt from Ida Haendal, whose major influence was George Enescu. And while at Julliard School in New York, David's teacher, the legendary Itzhak Perlman named David Oistrakh, Fritz Kreisler, Nathan Milstein and also Jasha Heifetz as major influences in his playing. Indeed great teachers produced great pupils who went on and became SUPERSTAR violinists.
Then my thoughts went to my first and current teacher Amy. She's younger than me and performs mainly easy listening pieces for functions, teaches kids as young as 2 and adults and is a violin collector as well. I feel blest already. To be able to relate to a teacher as a friend. Amy subsequently became Rachel's teacher as well and taught her even when she was still a screaming, tantrum throwing toddler under 3.
Time flies. It's been 2 years since that fateful afternoon July 2007, at the Paragon shopping centre where Yan had asked me to take Rachel to that "Free" album promotion event. Words aren't enough to say that I was totally blown away, by David Garrett's sheer good looks, model built and the beautiful, enchanting melodies from his heart stopping US$4m Stradivari named San Lorenzo. Dare i say, his super performances transformed, inspired and empowered me, a full time home-maker, to courgeously take up violin lessons and start the muscial life journey that I had always wanted as a child but did not had the support of parents and resources in my youth.
My life is never the same again. Thank you Jesus! Yan and David, you two, my sincere gratitude.
This special issue features exclusive interviews of some of my current favourite violinists Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Maxim Vengerov and Anne Sophie Mutter to name a few and that's not all, included are original articles as way back as 1896 concerning THEIR violin heroes like Eugene Ysaye, Issac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, George Enescu and Fritz Kreisler and more. GOD!!!! What a wonderful reference for my forever growing music library of cds, dvds, books and scores!!!!!!! How can any serious, aspiring violin student, youth or adult resist such a God send material!!!
I like to think about the "family tree", those stories of great teachers who not only passed on their formidable skills and imparted the passion of the art of violin playing. In fact, I had in my own library books after books on violin mastery. My favourite "teacher" is Leopold Auer who taught Efrem Zimbalist, Mischa Elman, Jasha Heifeitz (who looked a bit like my late grandpa who played the chinese violin or erhu) and Toscha Seidel amongst others and out of these famous players came many generations of well sought after teachers who are currently head and directors of many a conservatories.
Even my beloved David Garrett had had many great teachers. As a youth he learnt from Ida Haendal, whose major influence was George Enescu. And while at Julliard School in New York, David's teacher, the legendary Itzhak Perlman named David Oistrakh, Fritz Kreisler, Nathan Milstein and also Jasha Heifetz as major influences in his playing. Indeed great teachers produced great pupils who went on and became SUPERSTAR violinists.
Then my thoughts went to my first and current teacher Amy. She's younger than me and performs mainly easy listening pieces for functions, teaches kids as young as 2 and adults and is a violin collector as well. I feel blest already. To be able to relate to a teacher as a friend. Amy subsequently became Rachel's teacher as well and taught her even when she was still a screaming, tantrum throwing toddler under 3.
Time flies. It's been 2 years since that fateful afternoon July 2007, at the Paragon shopping centre where Yan had asked me to take Rachel to that "Free" album promotion event. Words aren't enough to say that I was totally blown away, by David Garrett's sheer good looks, model built and the beautiful, enchanting melodies from his heart stopping US$4m Stradivari named San Lorenzo. Dare i say, his super performances transformed, inspired and empowered me, a full time home-maker, to courgeously take up violin lessons and start the muscial life journey that I had always wanted as a child but did not had the support of parents and resources in my youth.
My life is never the same again. Thank you Jesus! Yan and David, you two, my sincere gratitude.
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