In The Media

New Straits Times, Life & Times, 11 July 1996
Unforgettable trip to New York
By Angeline Ong

OUTSIDE the John F. Kennedy airport, a tour bus was waiting to take us to Ithaca where our first performance was scheduled.

When we got there, we assembled at a cinema parking lot to wait for our host families. Name-tags were given out so that our hosts could identify us. My hands and feet were freezing but I remained where I stood, half- fearful, half-hopeful and awfully thirsty.

All of a sudden, the host families started arriving in flocks. Many of us stared curiously at our friends' hosts, trying to guess what our own would look like.

While we were doing this, I heard my name being mentioned. I turned towards the speaker and found myself looking at a pleasant face framed by a burst of short, curly blonde hair.

Before she could reach me, my friend Michele yelled out that she was our host. We were quite bashful and shy at first but after a while, the ice was broken and we started loading my luggage into her car.

My host's name was Alene Wyatt and she had a truly awesome house. We must have amused her when we screamed on seeing her basement - it was like a mini-library, filled with tons of books. Michele and I are obsessive readers and found all the books we adored in there. There was also a billiard table and a lovely garden behind her house, with a swimming pool just 50 paces away!

After we had explored the house, we had wonderfully cooked Asian food for dinner. Then, it was time for bed and we fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning , I awoke to stare dumbfounded at the clock beside me - the sun was already up and flooding our room with sunshine and it was only 5am. After breakfast, Wyatt sent us to the Cornell Dairy Bar for a tour to see how ice-cream was made there. The Operafest members were happy to be reunited again. Everyone talked about their hosts and their new temporary homes.

The next stop was the Cornell University campus. Among the places we visited were the Chimes Concert Tower. We got a demonstration of how the chimes were played: the bells are mechanically aligned to wooden hand and foot pedals and the chimes master plays it like how you would an organ. Altogether, there are 19 bells and this is the only place in the world where bells are played this way. It was an enlightening experience.

Our tour ended at the Johnson Art Museum where we performed for the Mayor of Ithaca and the local television network so that our performance could be aired on the local evening news. The Operafest members were given a guided tour of the art museum.

Personally, I thought the best part of the Cornell campus tour was the beautiful countryside scenery, historic buildings and modern architecture which blended so well together.

Cornell is a place where flowers bloom all over and it makes you feel like taking off your shoes and walking barefoot on the grass, where the air smells sweet and little tufts of dandelion seeds float with the wind all around you. It's a place where pheasants, squirrels, deer and rabbits roam free. On the way back to my host's house, I found that I couldn't stop beaming for the next 15 minutes because I had encountered a real, live raccoon!

Cornell now has about 50 brilliant Malaysian students. I met one of them there, Foo Sing Chong, who played host to two of our members during our stay. He had been in Cornell for seven years doing his Bachelor's in engineering and physics. When we met him, he was doing his Masters in computer graphics.

He told us he liked the great country life and the friendly community in Cornell. I asked him about our choir group. My self-esteem was boosted when, slightly embarrassed, he admitted he was impressed because earlier, he had wondered whether we could stand tall next to the Americans when it came to music and culture.

The next day was the start of the 19th Annual Ithaca Festival. What is so unique about this festival is that it makes room for all levels of artistic endeavours. You might see a seven-year-old performing for the first time with the choir or a 70-year-old playing his own homemade instrument. It is a festival dedicated to the discovery of talents and self-expression and you didn't have to be a local to participate.

Operafest performed at the centre pavilion for the people of Ithaca and received a warm welcome.

After our concert, we mingled with the crowd and stayed to enjoy the food and the show.

We also performed at the Ithaca farmers' market near Cayuga Lake, a preview of what we were going to do at the Statler Auditorium in Cornell.

Before that great event, we had a rigorous rehearsal with our mentor Kam Sun Yoke at the auditorium. I was exasperated because we were still not in top form despite months of preparation. Kam shared my exasperation as she made us repeat our songs over and over again.

After that, we shared a good dinner and fellowship with the Ithaca Children's Choir. As they say, the show had to go on and it must have turned out well, judging from the standing ovations we received. It was beyond our expectations and we went home satisfied.

June 2nd was the final day of the festival. We spent the whole day at Stuart Park where the festivities were still going on. The highlight was a fireworks display that lit up the night sky.

The next couple of days saw us performing at several high schools - North East School, Dewitt Middle School in Ithaca and Corning Free Academy in Corning. At those schools, we were taken on tours and after each performance, time was allocated for questions. You'd be amazed at the questions we were asked. I guess you could say that we knew more about them than they did about us. Questions about the standard of our English were especially entertaining: many asked whether we took private English tuition.

There was an inspiring moment at the North East School when Kam was asked whether we hugged each other. Our conductor then pulled me out to hug the boy who asked the question. Wolf whistles broke out and chaos ensued when everyone else wanted a hug as well. As there were more of them than there were of us, some of them only managed to end up hugging our limbs... It was an experience I will always remember.

The next item on the agenda was fun. We went by coach to Corning to visit the Rockwell Museum which featured the "pop art" of Norman Rockwell.

THAT night, we stayed at the Watson Homestead Centre and swam in the heated pool. The next day, we performed for the senior citizens of Corning who gave us a warm welcome.

In tha afternoon, it was on to the Corning Glass Museum where I found out how my mother's Corning Ware was made. We also went to the Kodak factory where my curiosity about cameras was completely satisfied. The next couple of days were spent performing in various parts of Corning.

On June 7, we headed for Niagara Falls and the Canadian side of the border. As I stood at the edge of the falls, I felt awed by one of the seven wonders of the world. The ride on the Maid of the Mist was refreshing, with the water spray leaving our faces drenched.

Leaving Niagara Falls behind, we headed for Cooperstown, where statues immortalise famous pitchers and batters of American baseball.

Hosting us there was Mr and Mrs Cifton Wharton, who gave us a scrumptious lunch at the Otesaga Hotel. We also got to see the heritage of the American Indians at an exibition hall built specially for them. We then gave an informal concert at our hosts' house for a selected audience.

The next day, the Ithaca Lions Club gave us a barbecue at the Empire State and Speech and Hearing Clinic. International Children's Day was celebrated with the Ithaca Children's Choir at a hideway ranch. At this ranch, the adults - comprising the organisers and all our hosts - performed for the children instead.

The two last days were spent shopping. We had a Chinese dinner - courtesy of Siew Nim Chee - at the Hai Hong restaurant, while the next night, the Lions Club gave us a treat at the Main Moon Chinese restaurant.

Tears flowed on the last day when we had to bid our new-found friends farewell. I didn't let go of my host until it was REALLY time to go. And then we were on our way to New York City for a tour before heading home to Malaysia .

In New York, we saw the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Academy of Arts and many other museums.

New family ties were forged as I now have a loving and kind American "grandmother". (Thanks for everything, Alene!) Of course, I must also mention my new friends on the other side of the Pacific who have done so much for us, namely the organisers, especially Aunty Siu Ling and Uncle Don.

Note: Kam Sun Yoke has been invited to sing at the annual Music Festival in Kharkov, Kiev, Ukraine, from July 18 to Aug 3. She will be accompanied by pianist Maria Kim, a Grand Prix winner. Operafest will also perform seven concerts, featuring West Side Story, in Malaysia, beginning on Dec 1 before proceeding to Singapore from Dec 27 to 31.

Operafest will be happy to perform the Christmas cantata for any church or charity during the Christmas season.