In the deepest of Rural and Regional

I'm privileged to work for one of Australia's largest and most respected charities. Over the last two days this privilege has extended to meeting some of our staff who work in our sites located in rural and regional New England.


The last two days has been a whirlwind of visits to Armidale, Tenterfield, Inverell and Moree. In between 300 km of driving, being fed way too much food and even a recreation of Sir Henry Parkes' federation speech, we met incredibly inspiring and insightful staff members, co-operative and helpful service providers, community leaders oozing of natural leadership and the disadvantaged communities they serve, their people and their struggles. We got to learn a bit about the communities we visited, their struggles with things we might take for granted such as access to basic services (e.g. dental care) and were told of stories involving children and families, mental health, isolation and desperation.


I know at the moment the world seems to be experiencing one natural disaster after another with the QLD floods, the Christchurch earthquake and Japan's ongoing crisis... but perhaps  this tour has reminded me that despite all the work that needs to happen around the world, the work, the meaningful kind to the people who live here, must start from home.

Grandpa Yung

My grandpa was 91 years old when he passed away last Wednesday 27 October. It’s sad whenever someone close passes away but it is my grandpa’s good fortune that at the end of his life, he could say he lived 91 glorious years. It's his blessing that he escaped the pain and suffering of the last stages of stomach cancer.

I try to focus on the good things.

My grandpa has experienced life and I mean really experienced life. He was an athlete and a dancer growing in China, worked for the British Navy whilst in Hong Kong, worked as a restaurant manager of a highly-regarded Chinese restaurant in Sydney. He even represented himself in court when faced with some immigration issues and of course, he won.  Fiesty is my grandpa.

My grandpa is also naturally musically gifted and possesses perfect pitch.  He arrived on the shores of this land and heard Waltzing Matilda. Up until a few months ago, he would still play this song for me every time I visited him. His love of music lasted his entire lifetime.  Even in his final days when the cancer prevented him from doing anything, he would sit back and listen to those slow, melodious, soulful songs of a Hong Kong once filled with stylish women in tailor-made qipao and men curious of western suits.

Tomorrow is the funeral of my grandpa and then in the next few days we will take him to the temple in Wollongong to rest alongside his favourite son.

I can’t say I agree with everything my grandpa did in his last few years but what’s happened has happened and our concern now is that he peacefully slips away into the next world knowing how much love this family has for him.

Grandparents are so precious. Presently, my grandmother (on the other side) is living with us and these days I can’t help but show affection every chance I can. We go for short walks, we play mah jong, we have little morning and afternoon teas, we chat in bed as if we are school girls having a slumber party...

Just today I finished writing up the memoirs of my grandma... To my grandpa, here's also my personal tribute:

dedication to grandpa yung

Scrapbook Scores

I'm excited. See here.

Canon in D

Pachelbel’s Canon in D. You know it. I know it.  It’s one of the most famous classical tunes in modern era.

Tonight stewOZ and I went to see the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. The evening was reserved for Palazzo Baroque with a special guest from Italy - Maestro Federico Guglielmo.

It was simply marvellous.

I was however intrigued by the improvisation of Canon in D which appeared about halfway through the program. Most music students will know that Canon in D is one of the most fun pieces of music to improvise to. In Canon in D all the chords are diatonic which means you can use one scale - the D major scale - to improvise over that steady bass we've all come to recognise. 

Most piano students have attempted such improvisation and once upon a time, I would spend several hours a day improvising over Canon in D. It was most fun :)

Needless to say when I arrived home tonight the first thing I did was open my piano lid and start improvising over Canon in D. Of course, my piano skills are nowhere comparable to Paul Dyer on his harpsichord. But it's nice to know and perhaps to dream, even for a second, that I share something in common with the Artistic Director of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

stargate theme (wedding version)

Here it is.....

stargate theme (wedding)

The score for 3 violins and a cello is with the quartet leader but here's a piano version to obtain some initial feedback. 

The question is... can you see a bride, my brother's beautiful fiance, walk down the aisle to this?

Here's the original soundtrack: stargate theme (original)

Based on experience

(which really only entails the past 3 hours of arranging for a string quartet)

· 

• I enjoy working with melodies and how they should be managed and figuring out harmonies later.
• I have the arrangement worked out in my head way before being able to translate it onto manuscript paper.
• I find the process of coming up with melodies, countermelodies, themes, harmonies most enjoyable. Conversely, I find the process of writing it all down most painstaking. 
• I quite like the idea of violins and cellos each taking their turn with management of a melody. 
• My ability to notate lags significantly to my ability to come up with themes.
• I much prefer composing with manuscript paper, pencil and an eraser rather than utilizing Sibelius, a scoring computer program.
• I find it much easier to compose piano arrangements. In truth, I really should’ve had a better grasp of the range and ability of string instruments before I started.
• Arrangements for string quartets work best in D major if you are unfamiliar with writing for strings.
• The D string on the cello has a very lyrical, beautiful sound.
• Every time I compose or arrange, I learn.  

It all started...

… from that one scene in a French film called “Blue”. Blue or more accurately Trois Couleurs: Bleu is the first in the Three Colours trilogy by acclaimed director Krysztof Kieslowsk and starring one of my favourite actresses Juliette Binoche.

There is this one scene where Ms Binoche attempts to complete an unfinished piece of musical work, a piece celebrating “the unity of Europe”. She sits in the middle of the floor and composes, note by note, and it all comes to her naturally. She strikes out trumpets, replaces drums with bells…. The audience has the benefit of hearing the music develop through the film soundtrack. The protagonist hears the music in her head.

It’s simply an amazing scene.

My good friend Cherie introduced me to this film a few years ago particularly with reference to this scene.  The film has become a firm favourite and this particular scene has always stuck with me. It inspires and I aspire. The idea of being able to compose like the protagonist is quite an extraordinary thought and today I had my own little extraordinary moments.

I'm no grand composer. Nowhere near it. In fact, I still call myself a possible composer. But today when I was arranging my brother’s wedding march, there were some moments. “The first violin shall carry the melody….… and the cello shall take the melody from here…” all whilst sitting in front of my piano.

The arrangement is pretty much finished and I’m pretty happy I fell into that orchestration class by accident howeverso many years ago at the Conservatorium.

I've not composed a masterpiece but it’s given me a few extraordinary moments I can call my own.   

The New Year

It’s been a busy start to the new year. New job, new routine, new projects... a new holiday home is underway and a newly-booked holiday is on the close horizon :)

I've started the new year in a new role. It’s for an established charity in Sydney.... and suddenly the day-to-day of my everyday becomes important and matters. I would definitely say an inspirational dividend goes a mile.

I’ve also been commissioned to write a new piece of musical work. 

A wedding march.

To be paid for by much love and consideration.

The best way to be paid :)

My brother is getting married and he and his fiancé have asked me to write a wedding march. The task is to arrange the theme to Star Gate SG1, my brother’s favourite TV show, appropriate to accompany the bride’s walk down the aisle.

Funnily enough, I think it's actually a present to me. I suspect  my brother and my to-be sister-in-law know how much I enjoy composing...

Just in case you’re curious, here’s a link to the theme: Stargate SG1 Theme.

What do you think?

I hear 3 violins and a cello....

And just like that...

.... 2009 is almost over.

It's been several months since my last blog entry... There's always been the intention to blog but as it will, life just got in the way.

This last 6 months has seen life throw at me the unexpected, the challenging, the exhilarating, some lessons learned, many first times and (with a dash of luck) a few last times too.... and all the while, loved ones and friends have been close.

... and so for this entry, my last one for 2009, I smile and share some of the good-time moments over the last 6 months.

Here's wishing everyone a safe festive season. I'm looking forward to 2010. I hope you are too.

Livvi's Place

Here it is.... and we were proud to share it with 20,000 others :)


A personal thanks to family and friends who came out to support the playground!

                    

Note:- I'm cheating. At the time of writing it's actually December but the fair to launch Livvi's Place took place on 15 November 2009. 

Olivia's First Playground

For those who know me or have been reading this blog, you will know that I’ve been on a journey the last couple of years - a journey that back dates to November 2006 when 8 month old Olivia Perkins passed away.

In March 2007 we launched the Touched by Olivia Foundation through our first butterfly ball and we announced to the world our vision to build an all-abilities playground in Timbrell Park, Drummoyne – the local playground to the Perkins family.

Later in the year, we had our first family fun fair with Dora, kiddie rides, a petting zoo, pony rides, all-day entertainment, stalls galore (and a special crystal stall :))). It was a day for the community and it turned out to be a great day but in truth we had been a little concerned, none of us having experience in organizing a community fair and the day forecasted to rain (and it did not!)

In 2008, a second butterfly ball happened and the local community of Drummoyne wanted us to organize the family fun fair again… and we did :)

This year we’ve moved the ball to a slicker location and in these economic times, we achieved great things. $150,000 was raised and given to the Sydney Children’s Hospital where two positions focusing on lymphangioma (the condition Olivia suffered from) have been created.

All the while there have been endless talks with the council, community consultation, inquiries with sponsors, lengthy discussions with playground experts, quiet organizing and planning in the background.

And now we’re here.

On Sunday 15 November of this year, that playground we first dreamed about will be launched…. stemmed from the support of the local council, the local community, numerous sponsors including Leighton Constructions who is actually building the playground pro bono, the support network of the Perkins family, the support network of Touched by Olivia, the TBO family, my family and friends who have shared this personal journey with me.

It feels good to tell people that this is now happening. For those who were at that first ball, I hope they remember the way I do, how little we knew, how much we’ve learnt, how indeed we’ve grown.

I still remember that call from Justine (Olivia’s mum) not long after Olivia’s funeral. I took that call on my balcony and not long after, Justine, Phil and I were sitting around the lounge room of my Burwood apartment sticking up post-it notes on the walls. It marked the milestones to launching Olivia’s foundation, this Touched by Olivia Foundation and Justine’s dream to achieving this playground inspired by Olivia.

It’s been sometime coming. I am a little teary at the thought but I am quietly excited.

I am grateful. Because.

We have all experienced those moments, perhaps rare for some of us, which we find precious…so precious, we want to keep it to ourselves. Because it is special. Because it means something. Because it’s a moment that counts.

So I don’t really want to say except that this weekend I was given a most beautiful gift. It is beautiful for many reasons but one is that it will contribute towards a dream of making a difference.

Thank you, stewOZ.

TBO video presentation...

... and here's the video shown on the night. Thanks to Geeks Give Back, the designer geeks, Neil and Scott.

Yes, that's my music being played in the background. A quiet tribute.

the actual amount raised.....

is actually

$150,115.

Amazing... given the economic times. This is truly an amazing result.

A research fellowship for Sydney Children's Hospital, a step in the direction for treatment of vascular malformations and tumours.

Touched by Olivia - Butterfly Ball 2009

This Saturday that just went by was the annual Touched by Olivia butterfly ball. With a theme of "an enchanted evening", the night promised pretty colours of pink, yellow and blue, shiny things, feathery stuff and sprinkles of sparkles. An entertainment line up of Brent Street dancers, So You Think You Can Dance performances and a Cirque du Soleil aerialist dazzled the crowd. Our MC, Jay from Playschool and Star Wars, gave the crowd of 600+ a warm and fuzzy feeling.

We raised about $130,000 and in this economic climate, this result is completely overwhelming.

Our volunteers were amazing. We could not have done it without our troop of cheery and colourful volunteers who each contributed to this outstanding result and gave up their Saturday night to give our guests endless smiles and a warm reception.

Here's a few photos to share:








More photos here.

Geeks v Hip Hop Artists

Hello :) A few weeks ago I had blogged about our Geeks Give Back program inviting participants of ICE's urban music program into the house and spending an afternoon of swapping stories of struggle and success, workshopping helpful social media ools and creating an online presence for these budding filmmakers and hip hop artists...

Here's an article that ICE has written up on the event:

http://ice.org.au/newswire/2009/04/hip-hop-artists-v-geeks/

A sprinkle of Red Dust.....

I was very fortunate to participate in a Red Dust Role Model tour (www.reddust.org.au) in May 2007. A plane trip from Sydney to Ayers Rock and then a 4WD to the indigenous aboriginal community of Mutijulu... there are no words, nothing that can be said, that can capture this experience.

Here's some pictures.... and there are a thousand more.

Gloria's Head Shave - the Bill Walsh Cancer Research Institute

Gloria Best. She was indeed.

For about two and a half years, I worked in the same team as Gloria. It was my honour. She was my director's PA and at the time, I was managing the Vodafone Australia Foundation. We sat in our little corner but mind you, her devilish laughter, I'm sure, could be heard from all four corners of level 20.

Gloria wore a pink vest and would promptly ask to go out for coffee at 10 o'clock. As she didn't have any children of her own, she affectionately adopted me as her 'work daughter', always correcting my posture and warning me from good looking guys...

Gloria died in August 2007. Her 'recurring' cancer recurred again... and I still remember that day when I heard her take the phone call from Dr Bell. Having beaten cancer twice before, she cried (who wouldn't?) but by the end of the day, she was back on the phone leaving Dr Bell a message that she was ready to fight it again.

The next day Gloria approached me and asked whether I could help her with her fundraising idea. She wanted to shave all her hair off ('It's going to fall off anyway!" she exclaimed.) This was a magnificent gesture from a brave, brave woman.

Together we created 'Gloria's angel network' and in front of about 200 colleagues, Gloria's head was shaved. Along with a lolly jar count, raffle, 'best baldie in the building' competition and auction of one of Gloria's personal pieces of decoupage (which brought in $400 alone), she raised $7,155.10 for the Bill Walsh Cancer Research Institute for research into Peritonial cancer (the 'whispering cancer'). Her BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) was $5,000.

Importantly, this fundraiser and Gloria's condition raised awareness on the importance of all women taking a CA125 test.

The months that followed were filled with medical tests, needles and all things nasty. I accompanied Gloria a few times to the Royal North Shore Hospital, when was she receiving treatment, when she had to find out the results of tests. It was tough. When I went to visit her and realised she had been moved into palliative care, it was tougher. In the end, it still remains that speaking at Gloria's funeral has been one of the toughest thing I've had to do my life....

But Gloria's brave fight to the end remains fresh in my mind.

And I will leave you with Gloria's words, 'Don't forget to go and have a CA125'.

Detour - for a smile :)

There are those occasional moments in life when you can sit back and let out a contented sigh….

A long weekend has just passed in Sydney, Australia. I’ve had such a lovely, lovely weekend where I got to spend time with favourite people and do favourite things... (including kicking a soccer ball (wildly) about in a park).

For dinner, I’ve boiled some rice and made myself a fried egg. There’s some other stuff in the fridge but really, it’s enough.

Tonight I sit back and hum a little tune.

Have a listen… and smile with me please.

Happy Easter :)

A Trailwalk - Oxfam Australia

Team 325.

I still remember.

Physical torture for the ideal of a fairer world. Yes, I know it's crazy.

Once upon a time I was much against these gimmick-type events but I realised (the hard, stubborn way), sometimes it's what gets people to sit up and listen... and now I'm all for it.

A large part of my memory of 2006 is taken up with weekend walks into rough terrain, getting excited over Kathmandu sales, support crew jingles, cadbury raisin bars, coming up with all sorts of funny fundraisers (including a Trivia, a bowls day, a Eurovision dress up (organised and supported by my beloved legal colleagues, shout out of a special thank you to Lisa M!).

My inspiration for participating in the 2006 Oxfam Trailwalk was that in the year before, as a volunteer, I had registered a man who was blind, another with one leg on crutches, teams of grandmothers and grandfathers with bulging muscles.... these people I registered at the start of the 2005 event had all completed the walk.

There was no excuse. I had to do it.

In the end, Team 325 (a team comprised of 3 fit athletes and one tortoise (guess who?) raised $24,537 to go toward a vision to combat global poverty and injustice.

The picture above is of our supportive colleagues at registration.... I still remember their cheers :)

Oh and by the way, I had my own special moment out there on the trail... I got to walk next to Charlie, the blind man I had registered the year before. I walked with him and his team for a little while before having to go along my merry *cough* painful way to catch up with the rest of my team. It was an awesome feeling to be there standing next to him.

Elaine

Team 325 'In Hindsight'

Head of Cadbury Raisin Bars Committee (still)