The healing power of music
Medical student Julian Lee, who is also a talented violinist, has a passion for ‘music that heals’, writes Dennis Chua
HE plays four musical instruments and has performed 450 times in front of royalty, celebrities and dignitaries, largely for charity events. Julian Lee is also the proud winner of three international awards in music, all this while pursuing a medical degree.
The elder of two siblings, he is a pop violin performer and final-year medical student at University Malaya.
He admits that it is “never easy” to balance classes on weekdays and performances on weekends.
“Time management is a must for me as medicine is a tough course,” said the 24-year-old Penangite in a recent interview.
Lee’s first exposure to music started when he was 4.
Back then he accompanied his mother, school teacher Juliana Liow, when she conducted piano lessons around George Town.
“My mother noticed my interest in music and soon I started learning the piano. A year later, I took violin lessons,” he said.
Lee credits his late violin teacher Brian Tan, who was also the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre Orchestra’s music director, for giving him his first performance opportunities.
“Back then, pop violin was a novelty. We performed around George Town, including with the Penang Philharmonic Orchestra,” said Lee, who admires Malaysian violinist Dennis Lau, German violinist David Garettt, and Taiwanese musicians Jay Chou and Wang Leehom.
After he left school, he began to look for performing opportunities.
“All I had was my hunger to succeed and a bit of luck, which has brought me to where I am today.”
Lee admits that he took to music “like a duck to water”.
“When I was in primary school, I would practise at least four hours a day.
“My mother would ask me to stop in order to study for my exams,” said Lee who studied in Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan Chung Ling, George Town.
He now practises two hours a day, twice a week or thrice if he has an upcoming performance.
Besides the violin and piano, the songwriter, who also does musical arrangements, also plays the guitar and erhu, both of which he learnt during his schooldays.
“The violin is my favourite instrument because it sounds the closest to the human voice and is easy to carry around,” he said.
Lee’s first major violin showcase took place at the Komtar Merchant Association Anniversary Dinner in Komtar, which was attended by the then Chief Minister of Penang, Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon.
He participated in violin and piano contests, winning first prize for violin and second prize for piano at the Kota Kinabalu Music Festival 2010.
In addition, he emerged tops in the violin category of the Malaysian Youth Music Festival 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.
Since the Komtar event in 1999, he has performed at charity events attended by Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang, former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau.
Last year was significant for him — in March, he was named the McMillan Rising Stars Most Promising Violinist at the McMillan Woods Global Awards in Kuala Lumpur.
In September, he was awarded the Asean Leading Emerging Violinist Performer at the 8th Asean Outstanding Business Awards, organised by the Asean Retail-Chains and Franchise Federation.
Three months later, he was awarded the Top IN Inspiring Musician Award at the Asean IN Awards.
“Those awards were mainly for entrepreneurs. I feel privileged to win, as I was the youngest person to win all three awards,” said Lee.
Lee obtained his ATCL (Associate of Trinity College London) Diploma with distinction (violin) at 13.
At 15, he obtained his piano ATCL Diploma with distinction and was named an Outstanding Achiever by the Trinity College of London.
In 2010, he was one of a few teenagers handpicked by international pianist Bobby Chen to attend the First Overseas Malaysian Winter Piano Academy Music Camp in the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School in the UK.
He also performed at the famed Yehudi Menuhin Concert Hall.
Then in 2016, he received the Society for Education and Research Development India Excellence Award for his outstanding contribution to instrumental music.
“I make sure I perfect every detail before going on stage, no matter how small or big it is,” he said.
Lee believes that “the younger you are, the further you can develop musically.”
“It is never too young to dream big or aim for the impossible.”
Being in medical school, Lee gets many invitations to perform at charity events for cancer patients.
“It means a lot to cheer them up. Seeing the joy on their faces is the least I can do to help them heal,” said Lee who who believes that music is powerful in affecting emotions and healing the soul.
“I hope to be involved directly or indirectly in it. I believe it can develop extensively in our country in future,” he said, adding that his next goal was to perform alongside the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Dewan Filharmonik Petronas.
dchua@nst.com.my It is never too young to dream big or aim for the impossible. Julian Lee