Music Started Here!

Music in my life started during my high school years. There were no singing stars, no records, no CDs, no popular songs, not even radio when I started junior high school. Music was a subject in school which would not be on any entrance exams. Therefore you just had to pass it when you were taking it. However, I enjoyed the classes in junior high, and I liked the music teacher, Mrs. Bi (畢华雯), who I introduced on this blog earlier (see August 9, 2010). Recently, a classmate of mine, Jerome Sung, and I were chatting on the phone. He asked me if I remember that I received the first prize when I represented our class in the school singing competition. I told him that I do remember that competition. Then he asked me if I remember that he was supposed to be in the competition, too. However, just before his turn, he was so nervous that he shouted to make his throat hoarse so that he could excuse himself from the competition. He later went on to major in music at Normal University and became a famous choral director in Taiwan. You never know how life will turn out! It was nice to hear his story.

At Cheng-Kong High School, I had another music teacher, who not only helped me to form a high school chorus but also gave me special instructions on basic singing techniques. I spent a lot of time with music in my high school years. I will report on this in more detail later. The teacher's name was Ou-yang Ru-ping (欧阳如萍). His surname had two words, which is unusual but not uncommon. He was a very big fellow, with a thundering voice. I tried to imitate the way he sang. Since that time, music became part of my life. Later, I directed many choruses and choirs. And I certainly sang many different songs. I was also the first price winner again in the senior high school singing competition.