One of the additional benefits of teaching is that I have some students who also study music. This means that when they are going to appear in some concert, I get free tickets to go watch them. And what a joy it is to see them! I am flabbergasted by their talent and the beauty of the music they play, especially since they are mostly Grade 4-7 students.
The most recent occasion was last Saturday night, when Lily, a Grade 7 student I have been teaching for 5 years, invited me to watch her perform at the Yuanlin Theatre in a Mother's Day concert. Lily plays viola, a slightly bulkier and deeper sounding version of a violin, and this was about the fifth time I have seen her perform. Each time I see her, I'm amazed by her progress and as I watch her I wish she would show the same amazing development in her English!
I invited a good friend of mine, Leana, to go with me, partly because I didn't want to be alone on a Saturday night (my girlfriend was working) and partly because I wanted to share the experience with someone I thought would appreciate it (for those of you who can read Afrikaans, see Leana's article on the concert, which inspired this one!).
The music was simply captivating, but watching the musicians was just as entertaining! Lily's first of four appearances was her doing a solo piece and it was difficult for her to restrain her smile as she searched the audience for familiar faces - her parents, her friends, her English teacher (sitting in the third row and trying not to burst with unearned pride). Lily was followed by a violin teacher, Mr. Lin, who not only expressed the beauty and emotion of the music he played through his violin, but also through his left foot. The front of his foot would rise and fall with each beat and when he played a particularly emotive or strenuous phrase, the whole foot would rock from heel to toe! It was a sort of deaf man's guide to the music.
Two of the younger musicians, from Primary School, played a Double Bass duet. It wasn't an extraordinary performance, but I enjoyed their rendition of "Old MacDonald had a farm" and the fact that their instruments were taller than they were! Another quintet of Primary School students, including Lily's brother who played the oboe and had the naughtiest smile I have ever seen a musician beam, played a medley of tunes with the carelessness of youth that was both entertaining and refreshing.
The evening ended with six Junior High School students (including Lily), Mr. Lin and another Cello teacher, playing three spirited pieces, followed by two well-deserved encores, the latter encore being a fabulous reworked rendition of "Happy Birthday to You"!
It was an evening well spent.
Dion Marc Delport
21 May 2006