The Applause That Lives On

While watching a Chinese drama called “Zhu Jue (主角)” today, a scene suddenly reminded me of my viola teacher, Ms. Li. In Episode 19, the main character, a young girl from a poor family, finally gets the chance to perform on stage. At first, she never wanted to learn opera. But after her family went through many hardships, she decided to dedicat... Read more 26 Jul 2026 - 3 minute read

A Farewell to my viola teacher

I am still in disbelief that you left us so suddenly. This year marks the 16th year of my journey as your student. In my 26 years of life, you have been a significant part, witnessing my growth, knowing my strengths and weaknesses, grasping my little thoughts, seeing my flaws, and encouraging me to showcase my best qualities. In my heart, you e... Read more 20 Jul 2024 - 2 minute read

Why I play the Viola

I won the audition for my orchestra when I was 11 years old, my viola teacher thought I should play the viola. At that time, I had never heard the sound of the viola before, nor did I even know what a viola is. All I knew was playing the violin, my world was quite small as well. Many people used to believe that those who switched to the viola w... Read more 25 Dec 2022 - 4 minute read

Tangerine dreaming

We did one random question in everyday standup meeting. Last week there was a question “What’d you do if you are on a talent show?”. When it was my turn, I joked that my talent would be packing. There’s always something that pops up at the very last minute, and I manage to cram it into my already full luggage. My colleagues laughed. A week ... Read more 28 Aug 2022 - 2 minute read

Happy 20th Anniversary

I was 4 yrs old when I started on the violin on 13th July 2002 (thanks to my mother of having a notebook to write down the progress and problems after each lesson), and took the first viola lesson in July 2009. There are endless reminiscences flashing through my mind now and I just can’t imagine it’s been 20 years. I’ve got two admirable teache... Read more 11 Jul 2022 - 2 minute read

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