Interview I
Vegetable seller
1. When did you start to sell vegetables and how long have you do this
j job?
UM… I start selling vegetables at my age of 9…and I am 63 years
old, and so I have been selling vegetables for 54 years.
2. Why you choose selling vegetables this job for your job?
When I am young, our family was quite poor, also we have many
family members. We can’t enjoy the education at that time. No one
employ me because I have no education.
3. When you first started selling vegetables, what is the condition of
this job?
We can’t earn so much income at that time, we can only earn ninety
dollars one month. There were so many similar shops in a sheet, and
this job, the contest was very large, the number of customers was not
very much,
4. How about the condition now?
Oh……… now my income is much worse than before. Although I
can earn three thousand dollars a month, the commodity prices of
now is much larger. Now, our contest is also very large, the big
supermarkets at the present hold a big market at the society. There
are not many customers now. Compare to the condition that when I
was young, the condition of now is much worse than before.
5. Have you carry out some solutions to increase your income?
Oh… I haven’t. I don’t know how to do and no one can help me!
6. This job is a hard job or a comfortable job?
Oh…this job is a really hard job. I need to wake up early to buy the
vegetables from the sellers and need to work for many hours to
finish my job. I can only earn a small amount of money. This
income can only support a little of my living. But I can’t choose a
more comfortable job. I only know how to selling vegetables…..
Interview II
Yan Huichang (閻惠昌)
The Music Director/ Conductor of
The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
If you think of “MUSIC”, what comes into your mind? Twins? Boy’z?
Edison? Nicolas? Or piano? Violin? Maybe you will think of an orchestra but
mostly, you will think of and the western music orchestra, you seldom think
of the Chinese orchestra, and mostly will think of the musicians who play
the music instruments and you seldom think of the conductor of the
orchestra.
Maybe you will think, being a conductor is a boring job. You have
nothing to do but “dance” on the stage in front of the audience, but what
will Yan Huichang, the music Director and conductor of the Hong Kong
Chinese Orchestra thinks?
Yan Huichang was appointed to be the Music director and conductor of
Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in June of 1997.
Mr. Yan received five years of professional training in Chinese music
conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and graduating with a
Bachelor’s Degree with the Distinction in 1983.
Under Mr. Yan’s baton, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra has record
several high quality and successful CD recordings.
Mr. Yan was awarded the “Cultural Medallion (Music)” by the National
Arts Council of Singapore in September 2001, the Gold Prize for “World
Academic Contribution”, the Gold Statue Prize for “Achievements of World
Cultural Celebrities” and the Gold Prize for “An Exhibition of Works by
Famous Figures of the Arts Circles in China” in October of the same year.
His achievements were simultaneously documented in the Famous Figures
of the Contemporary Arts Circles in China.
And here is our interview…
1) Do you think that you are a world top music conductor?
The world top music conductor is only a title. There are lots to study in the life;
it is very difficult to be a good music conductor in all of the audiences. Also, I
am already a world top music conductor in most of the audiences’ eyes. But I
think, I can do better.
2) Why did you choose to be a music conductor?
It’s because being a music composer is my dream. And a music conductor has to
be a music composer before they become a music conductor because they have to
understand the story of the music. Also, they have to know how to conduct the
piece of song of others composers.
3) Do you like to be a music conductor? Why or why not?
I think I won’t regret the decision that I decide to be a conductor because it is
suitable for my own character.
4) What is your job?
Being a conductor, I have to arrange the piece of song, analyze the piece of song,
and then I have to plan a blueprint. Lastly, we have to take a rehearsal , for
many times so as to have a good performance.
5) What are the conditions to become a conductor?
A conductor should know the history, literary…of the music, the more he/she
knows about music, and the better he/she are. Apart of these, you need to have a
good skill of conducting, good hearing, so as to listen to the little mistakes and
correct them, they should be an esprit fort, because there are many different ideas
in the orchestra, you have to combine these ideas into one solution or idea and
makes everyone agree. Also, you should be healthy because you have to stand in
front of the stage for several hours.
6) What’s the different between the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and the
Chinese orchestra from other places?
Firstly, the different is, it is Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. HA HA! Recently,
Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra has more performances, musicians, create more
pieces of songs and more chance to co-operate with others musicians. These push
me to do better and better, and I have a higher aim.
7) Do you have some memorable events in Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra?
Yes, in few years before, it was the 30th of June 1997, and it is an important day
to Hong Kong and China because Hong Kong wills no longer the colony of the
British after few hours. Also, it is my important day, because I had my first
performance for the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. I remembered that there were
heavy rain and we have to perform in the rain. We have to use the umbrella
because the instruments will break if it touches water. Also, we had beak the
Guinness record few years ago, after that many Hong Kong people are trying to
break the Guinness record again. In these few months, we had tried to break the
record again. We try to set a new Guinness record on the largest number of
people playing drum at the same time.
8) How would you teach the teenager to be a conductor?
I will let them to learn from experience. I will invite them to go to the
performance and learn from us.
9) If you retire one day, who will be the next Chinese Orchestra Conductor
and director?
They should have good performance skills, but I can’t say who will be the next
director because many conductors wanted to be the conductor of the Hong Kong
Chinese Orchestra.
10) Will you let your child you be a musician in the future?
Of course, I will teach what I know to them but if they want to be a designer or
some others jobs, I won’t say no because it’s their chose.