The lady at the box office asked me: ‘Have you ever thought about joining an orchestra?’

“You have to be open to learning new things. Last year one small decision changed a big part of my life. I was going to National Concert Hall to collect tickets for my daughter, and the lady at the box office asked me: ‘Have you ever thought about joining an orchestra?’ I said, ‘I never really thought about it, I can’t really read music… But we do actually have a violin at home. We’ve had it 40 years and nobody plays it.’ I never really turn down an opportunity, so since last year, I’ve been learning music. I’m no expert; I mean, I can play a few tunes. But for me, it’s more like gardening. I love gardening. My garden is not a very structured one, it looks more like someone threw a bag of seed mix on it, but I love to spend every minute tending to it. People often end up forgetting the real purpose of learning something new. It’s not about being an expert after the first week, but simply the joy of creation.”