After the birth of my son James and also of Andrew four years later, I began to nurture their musical talent at a very young age. James started the piano at the age of five and cello at seven. Andrew started the violin at three and the piano at five. Although my wife, Mae and I had no formal musical training, nevertheless we sent our children to the Kindermusik program (a renowned music development training program for young kids) for the development of musical awareness and its elements (rhythm, pitch and timbre).

Raising children to take up music as a career is one of the greatest challenges certain parents have to undertake. Many parents hope that their children should take up other subjects like sciences, law, accountancy etc when they grow up so that they will be able to secure a stable and well paid job later in life. Both my sons however chose to fill their life with amazing music. The journey to become a successful musician is not a straight road, it has many obstacles. The sacrifices us parents have to make in terms of financial and time commitments are enormous.

The formation of the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) in 1998 gave us an opportunity to send our sons James and Andrew to study with professional musicians in MPO under the Encounter and Outreach program. Many students who are interested to pursue music have limited financial means to do so. Thanks to the MPO, quality music education is provided to promising musicians who would otherwise not have the opportunity to advance themselves in terms of technical facility. Music talent may be inborn but budding musicians are produced under the tutorship of great teachers

I would like to thank Laurentiu Gherman who imparted upon James a very solid foundation of cello playing, and also Simon Cobcroft and Csaba Koros whom he furthered his studies with. James is currently a full scholarship recipient, studying in Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore under the tutelage of Qin Li-Wei. Since the inception of Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in 2003, Malaysians have been very fortunate to have an excellent conservatory to study music.

As for Andrew, we have to give our appreciation to Peter Danis for his time and tutelage. Andrew enjoys playing music in MPYO because it is fun and he enjoys making music with other people together.

Both sons also would like to thank the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and its principal conductor, Kevin Field for the valuable experience gained throughout the rigorous training during music camps. The valuable experience of playing in an orchestra is important for a musician for his or her music development.

Lastly, I want to thank Maestro Kevin Field and the MPYO for giving such a wonderful experience to both my sons in terms of musical experience. Bravissimo to the MPYO and keep up the good work!!