Author: Leo

Finally it was time for the music students in Laguna to greet and meet the TV crew from Singapore’s Channel News Asia. The first thing on the programme was to garland the two music experts who had been brought over to assess the students—classical violinist Min Lee, who is programme director of Wolfgang Violin Studio, and Wang Ya Hui, director of the orchestra of Singapore’s Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.

Then came the real business. The students had to play for the experts. They had a chance to watch Min Lee play. They were told how they would be assessed in the selection process for candidates to be sent to Singapore for training. They were given tips on their playing. They could ask Min Lee questions about music. Some (students as well as trainers) were interviewed by Sheryl the Channel News Asia producer.

And then came the real fun part, when they collected autographs, and when they turned the tables on Sheryl and interviewed her—with questions such as “Why are you still single?” “What qualifications are you looking for in a boyfriend?”

What did the students have to say about their experience? Well, they told me how much they learnt, how much had been corrected, and how they overcame their initial fear of Min Lee as a teacher once they had a chance to chat and have fun with her. Referring to what they learnt of the strict training that Min Lee underwent as a child, they said, “Now we understand why Ma’am Mechie [their violin trainer] is so strict with us”.

Channel News Asia was coming from Singapore to Laguna to film our Goducate music students, so the day before the film crew arrived was the last chance to practise, practise, practise. What’s more, Channel News Asia was bringing two expert musicians to watch our students play, which increased the tensions for the students. They were at the location chosen for the next day’s welcome ceremony. All were busy, the junior recorder players, the winds, the strings, all the way to the orchestra. They were rehearsing, focusing, helping one another, looking for a place to practise. And, as part of the discipline process, they also had to jog —well, it’s good for the breathing too.

The programme, Once Upon A Village, will be aired in Singapore on Channel News Asia on Mar 12. The two experts, classical violinist Min Lee, who has played with well-known orchestras around the world, and Wang Ya Hui, director of the orchestra of Singapore’s Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, were in Laguna to assess how best their skills can be transferred to the people in the music programme in Laguna. Essentially it is by selecting candidates for training or work attachment.

A sequel is planned, for about a year’s time, to show the impact of the skills transfer on the Laguna programme.