An impossible dream?

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: Administrator; Focus; 23 October 2010; Hits: 3670

An impossible dream?

When Joe Darion wrote the lyrics to the famous melody written by Mitch Leigh for the 1965 hit musical Man of La Mancha, I don't suppose he spent much time thinking about the ambitions of E flat tuba players.

But somehow the words seem to fit:

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

Unlike Don Quixote, the musical's central character, however, the quest facing BBJ (Medan Band) tuba player Lasnointer Marbun is neither farcical nor pointless. Lasnointer hopes to study music at Singapore's Nanyang College of Fine Arts (NAFA) next year. He has both the talent and the tenacity to make the grade, but not the money.

Rejected by his poverty stricken parents soon after he was born, Lasnointer was passed from relative to relative until he ended up in the Salvation Army's William Booth Boys Home in Medan, Indonesia. I am appealing for a sponsor to help him realise his dream. In other words, to change the “impossible” to “possible”.

This is not some sob story.

But this appeal is not based on some sob story. It is grounded instead the young man's talent. Without the benefit of regular lessons (I am based in Singapore), or the opportunity to hear performances by professional ensembles, Lasnointer has achieved the highest standard of musical excellence I have heard in my 23 years of teaching BBJ.

Entry to NAFA is first and foremost by audition. In Medan, these auditions will be held in February 2011. But since Lasnointer is already playing grade 8 music (ABRSM), I am confident that he will be accepted.

Unfortunately, the money involved is substantial. NAFA, without question the best music school in Southeast Asia, charges S$16,500 (US$12,800) a year in fees for its three-year diploma course. And that figure does not include other associated costs, including the cost of living (the Singapore government does not allow foreign students to work while they are in the country).

The reality is that I do not have the financial means to make Lasnointer's dream come true.

The analytical tools I use to track the traffic on this website show that it is visited by netizens from all over the world. Surely there is someone out there who might be able to help. You can get more background information by reading Scaling the Heights in the Medan Band section of this website.

If you think you can make a difference, or you believe you know somebody who can, click on the “contact us” link at the top of this web page and send me an email.

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A Dream Fulfilled

A poor but talented Indonesian E-flat tuba player who wants to study music in Singapore's prestigious Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), is very close to realising his dream.

An impossible dream?

Are musicians more moody and prone to suicide than other people?

Many people believe that musicians are more moody and prone to suicide than other professionals, and that - as a result - a greater percentage of them end their lives in mental institutions or are fated to live emotionally tempestuous lives. Musicians are also commonly suspected of being over sensitive to criticism, having delusions of grandeur and other neurotic traits.

The statistics fail to bear this out, although it is possible to find enough examples to make the case in front of those unfamiliar with Western musical history. Like actors, politicians and others obliged to face the public on a regular basis, musicians probably have their fair share of emotional problems. However, such problems do not constitute evidence of neuroticism.

Musicians probably have their fair share of emotional problems.

Beethoven was known for his moodiness, but this was probably closely related to his growing frustration as he began to go deaf. Among the famous composers, only Schumann and MacDowell ended up in mental institutions. Musicians probably have no more suicidal impulses than the rest of the population. But should a prominent musician decide to take his life, it is likely to get a good deal of publicity.

Perhaps the most morbid suicide was planned by the pianist Alexander Kelberine, who arranged his last concert programme to consist only of works dealing with death. He then went home and took an overdose of sleeping pills. Schumann jumped into the Rhine, only to be rescued by a fisherman. Rezso Seress composed Gloomy Sunday, a work that was once banned in Europe because it triggered a wave of suicides by young people on Sundays. Seress himself committed suicide by jumping out of a window. The vast majority of musicians, however, die of causes that reflect the state of medical knowledge in the particular historical period in which they live.

Some musicians certainly had sad lives. Mozart, perhaps the greatest of the composers in the Classical Period of music, died a pauper. The pianist Chopin, a Polish nationalist and tormented lover, was terrified of large audiences. He died of tuberculosis when he was 39. Bizet, a French composer who died when he was 36, was beset by crises of self-confidence and emotional upheaval. Unlike Chopin, his works only achieved widespread recognition after his death.

Wagner had the emotional maturity of a spoilt child.

George Gershwin only had a short life, but it was a good one. He died of a brain tumor when he was 39 after a rags to riches story that made him one of the most well known composers of popular music in the United States.

Others lived long and had much success, despite treating others abominably, including many of their friends. Wagner considered himself a genius as a playwright, poet, stage director, and philosopher as well as a composer, and was not shy about letting others know it! Although not particularly handsome, his personal magnetism was such that he had numerous affairs, usually with married women, despite the fact that he was married himself. His biographers describe him as having the emotional maturity of a spoilt child, complete with tantrums if he could not get his way. He died at the age of 70, widely acclaimed as one of the greatest composers of his time.

The pianist Franz Liszt's dashing good looks enabled him to have numerous affairs with many woman. He died of pneumonia at the age of 75. Contrast this with the fate of Schubert, who was short, fat, bespectacled and naturally shy. He died of syphilis at the age of 31 after his friends encouraged him to visit a brothel. Those who knew him well described him as having a warm and friendly nature. Somehow, it doesn't sound fair.

The life of J.S. Bach must have been very boring.

The majority of musicians now and in the past lead fairly quiet lives. Edward Elgar, a largely self-taught musician, rose from humble origins to become the first English composer in 200 years to gain international acclaim. He had a stable marriage, and was regarded by many as a typical English gentleman. He died at the age of 77. Sergei Rachmaninov, the Russian composer, also had a good life despite being out of step with his country's politics and music. He died at the age of 70.

The life of J.S. Bach must have been the most boring of all. He spent almost his entire life in the same small region of Germany where he was born. And nobody took much notice of him either. It was not until about 80 years after his death that his works attracted the attention they deserved.

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