“ Mummy, I want to play piano”, these words still rang vividly loud in my ears as though it happened yesterday. She waited for my answer in anxious anticipation while her big brown eyes scanned my facial expression looking for a hint of my decision. “ Yes, ” I said. A spontaneous shriek and tears of joy flow freely down her cheek. She was 7 then and had just returned from a holiday in Australia. Little did we know what started off as a hobby was the beginning of a musical journey which will expose her to experiences we would never have imagined. Nor dared dream.

Lu Ee was a fast learner and very soon she mastered all the pieces the piano teacher taught her and still demanding for more! Everyday, she would return from school, quickly finished her homework and played piano for hours sometimes well into the night. Her passion for classical music grew by the day. She used to pester us to bring her to watch the MPO concerts which in many ways fanned her desire to excel as a performer on stage.

“ I would like to send Lu Ee to this piano competition, “ said the piano teacher while pointing to a Jazz Piano Festival leaflet she was holding. “ Yes,” I said affirmatively and the little bubbly girl who was standing beside me was jumping with joy. She was 10 then.

Seeing her performing on stage effortlessly and fearlessly further convinced me that the stage was where she belonged. Tears welled up in our eyes when she was announced the winner for the competition. All our pent up emotions, anxieties, feelings of tiredness quickly turned into sheer joy and elation. All our hard work had finally been rewarded.

“ Mummy, I would like to play the violin too, “ Lu Ee said to me one day. “Yes, provided you can cope with your studies and piano lessons, “ I said hesitantly while mindful that violin will give her more opportunity of stage performances. She was 11 then. That was the beginning of her second phase of musical experience which demanded absolute discipline as she has to manage her time between studies, piano and now violin practices and lessons. We were indeed relieved that she was able to manage them well.

Very soon she started going for auditions and landed herself as a violin player in the National Youth Symphony Orchestra and the PJ Youth Orchestra. This broadened her musical horizon and her violin skills improved by leaps and bounds as she was given the chance to perform with the National Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions.

“Mummy, I was accepted into MPYO!” Lu Ee exclaimed as I was entering the house. She hugged me very tightly letting loose all her emotions as she had practice very hard for the MPYO audition. I was thrilled as she was and we both felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

The MPYO presents a musical experience that is beyond imagination. She was as we were awed by its grandeur and professionalism. Never in her life has she seen so many talented and gifted young musicians playing in an orchestra and achieving such high level of excellence. The concert tours to cities throughout Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak, her participation in the Outreach Programme together with a few side-by-side performances with MPO further shaped her skills and maturity as a performer in her fledgling musical development.

The sense of camaraderie amongst the orchestra members were commendable and some of them were among her best friends.

Looking back, the long tiring hours I spent driving her to attend music lessons, music camps, concerts and the tons of newspapers and magazines I had to devour while waiting for her to finish lessons had all but evaporated when I watch her performing with MPYO on stage – our doting daughter’s dream and ours too had been fulfilled.