Lily's Story

(1) Happiness is sharing

At the weekend, Lily went to take part in volunteering activities for the UBC Triathlon. My thanks to the Elgin Park middle school vocational instructor for the recommendation, Lily turned out to be the only 10th grade middle schooler in her volunteer team! For two days straight, she devoted 5 hours of high intensity volunteer work: she prepared drinking water at the finishing stations, handed out clothing covers, prepared clothing changes for competitors and even supported the tents from collapsing in the strong winds! After the event, she told me: "Now I understand the history of the triathlon! The first ever winner of the triathlon was actually a Canadian! Also, the International Triathlon Headquarters is in Vancouver, not Geneva!"

Lily takes her volunteer work very seriously — during the triathlon, the athletes would need to enter a tent to change clothes once they'd finished swimming. However, because of the strong winds, these tents would often be blown over, so the volunteer group tasked Lily and two others to support the tents. For over an hour, only Lily stood in the blistering cold wind, supporting her tent alone. Sometimes the light, nylon tents would not be firmly fixed and would be blown down, so Lily would stubbornly stand it back up all by herself to provide "shelter" to over 100 athletes. Later, I asked her why she didn't just give up, and she replied: "I would have hoped someone would do it for me. If I had just gotten out of the water and was preparing to cycle, I couldn't change into my cycling gear soaking wet!"

Lily even spent time observing the organization and scheduling of the volunteer team and assessed the pros and cons! What moved me the most was: after a long day of work without lunch, each volunteer was given two small slices of pizza once afternoon activities were over. Lily could not bring herself to eat it. Instead she held onto it tightly and crossed the stadium in the bitter winds looking for me. When she found me, she said: "Dad, this pizza's gone cold but let's share it. Everyone got two slices and I want to share it with you." She understands what it means to find joy in helping others, and she knows to share happiness and to take enjoyment in it. Whether she gets into an elite school in future is another matter, this joyous attitude of hers is already "Ivy "!

— To share happiness and find joy in helping others is a natural and healthy way to live. (LOHAS).

(2) First volunteer performance
in a nursing home

For her first new year celebration after her entire family moved to Vancouver, Canada, Lily performed her first volunteer performance for the elderly residents of White Rock nursing home. The room was filled with wheelchair-bound elderly folks, and when her performance ended, only three of them applauded. The rest of her audience were either asleep or staring into space. I hugged Lily and told her: "Congratulations on your first public performance! In just five minutes, you allowed these three people to feel the warmth of your music and your smile! Art that is filled with love is art that makes people feel warm." Lily's hands were freezing, and she told me: "I was so nervous that my hands were sweating and I messed up in a few places, too.”
An old lady holding a life alert sidled up to Lily and in an almost inaudible, hoarse voice she said: "I like music!". I gently said to Lily: "See! This is why you volunteer; you allow lonely old people to experience a beautiful resonance through the sound of your piano." (Lily was extremely invested in her performance, as a competitive Beijing girl at heart! The old lady by her side waved her hand to the rhythm for a while before grabbing her wheelchair and gliding around to the music!)

In the morning, she volunteered in the nursing home and performed her competition repertoire; that evening, she won her first music award of her life. This was the first music-related award of her primary school career — the 2018 Canadian Young Artist Standards of Excellence Award for the best improved players. (Her first athletic award was the gold medal she claimed at the ISI Asia (Amateur) Figure Skating Competition). She was selected as one of the 25 exemplary students out of over 500 contestants!

— The power of music, plus the warmth of a smile, equal the temperature of love.

(3) An unforgettable Father's Day concert

As Lily was busy preparing for the solo concert, she was constantly taking part in a series of Steinway & Sons Challenge Cup concerts. The Father's Day 2021 concert was unforgettable for our family, for no reason other than "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". Being lost in a moment of true love being expressed from the heart…

The night before her Father's Day concert, as Lily was practicing the piano in the living room, I was in my bedroom reading. Suddenly, the ringing of my phone cut through the melodious sound of the piano, and I instinctively put down my book and put my phone on speaker… It turned out that the call was from Lily's dear mother calling from Beijing: she had found out about an illness during her annual health check and was in need of urgent surgery within the week! She had waited until she was in the ward the day before the operation to call, so as not to disrupt Lily's practice before the upcoming recital! Though her voice was calm, the news hit like a bolt of lightning. As we were talking, we suddenly heard a heart-wrenching cry from the living room, followed by a flood of tears. This heart-felt agony was coming from young Lily in the room next door! Like a white lily that had been crushed in an avalanche, it turns out that she had stopped her piano practice and overheard the news…

From 8,450KM away in the capital, Lily's dear mother teared up and asked her: "Are you ready for your concert tomorrow?" Lily replied tearfully: "I am!" She continued: "Will you be okay to go on stage?" Lily lifted her head to look at me and said: "I will!" The voice on the phone continued: "That's the spirit! Your performance will be after my operation tomorrow. I'll try and stay awake. When you go on, get your dad to call me. I want to hear you play Chopin (Études)!"

Lily held the phone and used all her strength to let out an "okay". Tears streamed silently from the corners of her eyes as I hugged her tightly. Father's Day 2021 is the most memorable day of my life to date. No, will be for the rest of my life……

The next morning, I extremely rudely called the concert hosts and requested an emergency change to the concert repertoire: adding "Scenes from Childhood" — "Dreaming" by Schumann. This was a song that Lily had specifically chosen to wish her dear mother a successful operation! At this time, it was only 8 hours until the concert began! (My deepest gratitude to Tom Lee Music, who immediately changed and reprinted the concert programs without question!) — This gratitude will stay with me forever, along with my copy of the program!

The evening of the Steinway & Sons Challenge Cup series Father's day concert, I sat in the very front row and video called Lily's mother. "Are you doing okay?" I asked. "I'm alright. I've just got out of my operation. I'm exhausted! The anaesthesia in my arms and upper body hasn't worn off yet, so I've asked one of the nurses to hold the phone for me." We're not allowed to make phone calls in the corridor outside the operating room, so I have to be quiet…!" I raised my head and looked over at Lily, but she didn't look at me. She simply cast a sweeping glance over to the "microphone" in my hands and with a determined look in her eyes like none I'd ever seen before, she bloomed beautifully, like a bouquet of fresh golden lilies.

As she played, I caught a glimpse of Lily's eyes glistening with tears under the stage spotlight. Pursing her lips, she tried her best to keep her emotions under control. The only movement was the graceful rise and fall of her fingers between the black and white keys, gentle and controlled. Perhaps Lily was thinking about the warmth of her love for her mother, perhaps it was the sound of longing, or hope… I allowed the tears in my eyes to blur my vision. In that moment, I realized that I had grown old. An image of Horowitz shedding tears on stage during his concert in Moscow entered my mind… In this moment, these emotions, this scene, this recital father and daughter were connected on and off stage. We were both connected by the heart to the listener on the other end of the phone, thousands of miles away. She turned her eternal love for her family into musical notes that flowed freely, and poured her entire soul into the performance, in the hopes that her loving wish would come true. In that second, I saw a bold red lily adorned with dewdrops before me, then a bouquet, a thicket, until they grew to cover the entire stage…

The concert eventually came to an end. Standing outside the concert hall, Lily took the phone off speakerphone and went to talk to her mother about something in the corner. When she put the phone down, I suddenly noticed a gleam of excitement in her eyes, and a childlike glee seemed to emanate from her. I hurriedly said to her: "I forgot to ask how the operation went! How did it go?" Lily rushed over into my arms and said: "Dad, I forgot too!" "Then why are you suddenly so calm? What did you two talk about?” I asked. Lily looked me in the eyes and said: "She said that as she listened to my performance through the phone, she lifted her head to look out of the corridor window. She saw the blue skies and white clouds of great Beijing, the red walls and golden tiles of the Forbidden City, the dream-like tranquility of the Imperial City and a flock of white doves soaring high into the sky…"

— To live is to not only accept the lightness of life, but to also bear its weight!

(4) First VIP guest at the "East Meeting West"

This VIP guest was not a prestigious socialite, nor were they an artist. She was a regular Indian store clerk. However, both Lily and the two of us extended a sincere invitation for her to attend the "East Meeting West" recital in Vancouver Playhouse on the 23rd of October. We both believed that we needed to share this piano and guzheng performance with her, especially as she had never heard of guzheng!

On the afternoon of Thanksgiving, the two of us accompanied Lily to go and view poster samples. A young, enthusiastic Indian store clerk served us and, when she saw Lily's two poster samples on the computer, she was visibly shocked. After speaking for a while, we learned that she had studied guitar previously in India. She also really wanted to learn the violin, but there were no tutors locally. You could see that she really missed her days studying music. She asked Lily: "Are these your parents?" Lily replied: "Yes! We've come to select a poster together!" The store clerk replied: “I can tell that you have a very loving family. I envy you; I've been here for 10 years now, and I really miss my parents. I’m taking care of the paperwork currently; I hope that they can come and join me soon!" As we talked more and more, she began to tear up!

We looked at each other, uncertain of how to comfort this homesick young girl. Before we could say anything, she said: "I want to go and see this fascinating piano and guzheng performance (East Meeting West), may I?" Lily immediately replied: "Of course, welcome! I invite you on behalf of my parents! You are our first ever VIP guest." Lily's mother searched her phone and found the official "East Meeting West" online poster that Steinway & Sons had not yet published and told her to take a picture. The young clerk coyly asked: "Is it okay if I invite a friend?" Lily jokingly replied: "If it’s your boyfriend, then of course!" The young girl hurriedly gestured: "No, no! It's my colleague over there, the girl looking over here with a smile on her face!" The four of us burst into laughter…

When we got home and were just about to get out of the car, Lily, who had been silently sitting in the back for the entire journey, suddenly blurted out: "Dad, mum, I'm so grateful that you've come to Canada with me!"

— A person that cannot understand the feelings of others will never be grateful, but a grateful person undoubtedly understands the feelings of others!

(5) A chance dress rehearsal encounter
with a "soulmate"

Midday, the day before the "East Meeting West" recital, Lily had a chance encounter with a "soulmate" — In the morning, she had just finished piano rehearsal and was preparing to begin the guzheng concerto of "Grudge of Capital City". Suddenly, she heard sound of her guzheng that was placed in front of the window being plucked to a careless tune. She took a glance and noticed that a bird had flown in through the balcony windows as she was entranced in her practice and was casually fluttering across the guzheng strings. It even left little footprints across the body of the instrument. Lily quipped: "Such heavenly music rarely graces the world of man. How's it that the great masters Boya and Zhong Ziqi never came across this miraculous bird? An "angel" like this comes to me the day before my performance, a self-taught master of its craft — this bird is my soulmate!"

— We're no longer surprised by the sound of an unanswered phone call, yet we're astonished by the arrival of a soulmate?

(6) A Descendant of General Yue Fei
witnesses the recital of an ancient poem

Another chance encounter, another surprise — As the "East Meeting West" recital begins to swell to a grand opening, Lily Xie stands in a beam of light under a marble pillar, following art director Art Zhang's stage design. Enrobed in a Tang dress, she resembles an ancient Greek poet. She begins to read, "Melody of a River of Blossoms", written by a Chinese hero from 800 years ago, Yue Fei: "Hair on end and shoving my hat, In wrath I lean on th' balustrade, While th' rain leaves off its pitter-pat. Eyes fixed skyward, I sign long and loud. A hero's fury fills my breast. At thirsty, nothing achieved, unknown, — but these to me are light as dust — I've fought through eight-thousand li. Holding the field, under cloud and moon. What I do mind, is not to let my young head turn white in vain. And be gnawed by empty sorrow then."

Following this recital, Lily performed a solo concerto of "Grudge of Capital City". The sound rang rich and clear, soared through highs and lows as she created a perfect harmony between the two instruments. The majestic spirit of her performance perfectly displayed her emotions of "patriotic loyalty". Reciting ancient poetry at a classical music concert is an extremely rare style of modern performance, a refreshing and touching experience for an audience. Poetry and music have an innate connection, and they are inseparable mediums! However, what we were unaware of was that there was a special audience member in attendance that evening — a descendant of the great General Yue Fei! This guest had been practicing medicine under the radar in Vancouver for over 30 years, drawing on the wealth of her ancestral medical knowledge. This was the first time that she had revealed her illustrious background!

Experiencing a masterpiece of literature handed down by ancestors from 800 years ago, while simultaneously enjoying a harmonious concerto between the cultures of east and west, that expresses the descendants' admiration for their ancestors' patriotic service, what kind of temporal magic is this? What kind of experience would this be for the audience? This interlude has filled the world's first Steinway & Sons concerto performance at the "East Meeting West" recital with even more remarkable coincidence and bursts of artistic inspiration. Only Steinway & Sons could create such a mysterious "legacy".

During rehearsal, when Lily learned that a descendant of Yue Fei would be coming to the "East Meeting West" recital to hear her recital of "Melody of a River of Blossoms" and watch her "Grudge of Capital City" concerto, she exclaimed: "Unbelievable! It's like a time travel drama! Being able to perform for a descendant of Yue Fei himself, this is a great honor for my solo concert."

— We may not be able to go back in time, but we can pass on our legacies into the future.

The next day after Lily had completed her "East Meeting West" recital, she received an invitation from the PAC of a famous primary school in West Vancouver, Trafalgar Elementary. She was invited to play a guzheng recital on Chinese New Year, the most traditional of Chinese festivals! Although only 20% of the students in this school were Chinese and the other 80% were western, out of respect for multiculturalism, a special program of guzheng music was prepared. Members of the school's PTA shared a sharp insight: "Though we may assimilate, we must never forget our roots." When Lily heard the news, she replied: "Promoting Chinese culture? I'm going! I'll take time off if I have to. Also, I want to wear the most beautiful tang dress and play my most exquisite performance instrument. I want to play the Father of guzheng Xu Zhengao's 80th birth anniversary commemorative guzheng!"

The PAC suggested that they were willing to pay Lily for her performance. Who could have known that she would reply: "Heroes do not need a reason, nor do I need a price for promoting Chinese culture. Being able to display traditional Chinese culture to children of all backgrounds is more than I could dream, so I don't need any payment."

As I understand, Lily was invited to perform for the Chinese New Year community gala, as well as the parish Christmas and new year shows. Lily readily agreed to all these invitations, and not only did she prepare a classical guzheng performance of "Early Spring on Snow Mountain" to welcome the Chinese new year, she also prepared a performance "Jasmine Flowers", known and loved by eastern and western audiences alike.

— A person with strong morals needs not necessarily to see the big picture, but someone who sees the big picture, must have solid morals!

(8) Famous musical educator reveals
their reason for hosting the event

As one of the instigators of the "East Meeting West", general manager of Tom Lee Music and Steinway & Sons Canada Flagship, executive director of the Steinway & Sons Young Artists Society and famous youth music educator, Iris Fan mentioned in their speech as host of the recital: "Over two years ago, I happened to overhear Lily Xie performing piano and guzheng at a live concert. Immediately, I was hit with inspiration — the Steinway & Sons piano series features a model called the Steinway & Sons SPIRIO|r high-resolution player piano. It uses AI to technology to increase functions within classical music education. I hoped to use this high-tech musical platform to bring classical music education to a whole new level! So, I proposed a new concept to Lily, her parents and her piano instructor, Art Zhang. My hope was to create a perfect harmony between eastern and western musical art through a unique and innovative single-person concerto performance. To create a performance like none that had ever been seen before in indoor or outdoor concert performance, in the form of the 'East Meeting West'. In this world-first performance, the king of both piano and all musical instruments, the Steinway & Sons piano would represent the west. Meanwhile, the guzheng, born in the Warring States Period of China and known as the 'piano of the east' and 'king of Chinese musical instruments', would represent the east. In this performance, a concerto performance between the piano and guzheng would be performed by one single person — the piano part will be completed by Lily Xie and played through the Steinway & Sons SPIRIO|r high-resolution player piano's recording function. The guzheng accompaniment would be played by Lily live, making it the first time that the Steinway & Sons SPIRIO|r high-resolution player piano will feature in a concerto performance by a solo performer! We have successfully achieved the combination of western and eastern styles, as well as connecting the modern with the ancient! Through the fanfare created by the 'East Meeting West' recital, we will promote the study of Chinese and European musical instruments, as well as those of Asian, African and Latin countries to young people. Ultimately, our hope is to help more families fall in love with music, care for it and develop a passion for the arts!"

— Everyone's life is unique, but not everyone can rule the world.

(To be continued)