Well, after a long hiatus, I recently returned to the concert stage. It had only been 6 months, yet it felt like a lifetime! Here is a synopsis of the first half of my 2-city venture.

I first met Dr. Carol-Ann (CA) Courneya last summer at a lovely dinner hosted by my good friends Don and Rowley. I can’t recall how the story came up, but she recognized me from the CBC documentary that aired a year or so earlier (http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/2006/12/123106_3.html). CA then told me about an annual event at the University of British Columbia that raises money for charity, and features medical and dental student performers of all sorts (world-class musicians, dancers, singers, etc). Once CA mentioned the Chan Centre, I was immediately begging for an invitation!

After some planning through CA, Dr. Andrew Seal and a generous donation by the Dean of Medicine, Gavin Stuart, the invitation became official. I was to arrive a day before the concert to give an informal seminar to the students about combining my life of being a periodontist with that of a pianist. Piano-dontics, as I like to call it (not really =). I wasn’t sure what to say, or if anyone was going to show up. To my surprise, there were a bunch of medical and dental students who were interested in hearing my story. Either that, or they were there for the free food, ha. Anyways, here I am with CA and David Dunne, who I wish to thank for the following photos:

Since there was a piano at the lecture hall, and I was unsure of what to say, I decided to start the evening off with some Chopin (the Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise Brillante). I then began my severely under-prepared seminar. It was a bit awkward at first talking to people about my life. I mean...it seemed like I was giving a personal testimonial and justifying all my life decisions thus far! And really, who’s to say they’ve been the right decisions? I enjoyed talking to the students though. I told them of how I used to practice at lunch between classes, with a sandwich in one hand and practicing with the other hand. I spoke of the moment when I first realized I wanted to combine both school and music, and the dedication it took to pursue both dreams. One student asked me if my social life suffered because of my commitments. I had to respond honestly =)

Well, the everyone really seemed to enjoy the evening. They were comprised of mostly artistic students as well, and I was told after that my story inspired many of them to continue pursuing their creative passions alongside their demanding programs. That’s something I have taken very seriously in my life...to be a positive role model to people who have to make difficult decisions between balancing 2 lives. If I help just one person make that decision a little easier to deal with, it makes all the hard work worth it.

This picture I can’t recall what I was talking about. Maybe I was teaching them how to floss properly!

I also had the privilege to meet my good friend from Saskatoon, Dr. Carman Rabuka (AKA “mini-me”...although he doesn’t know I call him by that name!). Carman is out at UBC completing a dental residency and so I called him up to play a movement from the Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata for the students. It was fun to jam with him again.

The next day was the dress rehearsal at the Chan Centre. I must say this was one of the most beautiful halls I have ever played in. It was at the dress rehearsal where I met Ashley Ko, a third-year medical student, whom I was to perform the Scaramouche for 2 pianos with. It was funny, because the very first time we played together was this 10-minute rehearsal on the same day of the performance! Talk about cutting it close. Luckily for me, she’s an incredible pianist and a joy to work with. Because of our chemistry, within a few minutes we had the piece running smoothly!

For the rest of the day, I was pretty nervous. I was also to play the Liszt Tarantella, which is a technically-demanding piece. In the past, you would have to hold me back from running onto the stage. Nowadays, it’s a bit different...I mean, people used to not know (or care) who I was, and I always felt a bit like the underdog. Now, being invited to such grandiose events, I feel a lot more personal pressure to do well. For this reason I am happy to be an “amateur” pianist. I have only the utmost respect for professional musicians who get up on stage and give it their all night after night. The crowd was wonderful, and both pieces went really well. The hall was pretty much packed (I was told up to a 1000 people were there), so the energy was great. I felt calmer once I was on stage, and felt at peace with my soul as well as the music. This night was a real blast and a great way to return to the concert scene!

I wish to thank Mike Zhou for the last 2 pictures. Ashley and I had so much fun playing together. We plan to do this again sometime soon...so if anyone at the UBC gala wishes to have us back, we’ll definitely be up for it! After intermission, I had to rush out of the Chan and off to the airport. I was sad that I couldn’t stay longer in Vancouver because I had such a nice time there, but it was off to the next gig. Ashley and I stopped at the famous #9 restaurant in Richmond, where my friend Yair and I had dinner a year earlier when our trip to Tokyo was diverted to Vancouver for a night (http://www.thomasyu.ca/page/blog-post/tokyo_trip/).

I then took the red-eye to Montreal for another concert. This pace of life is what the old Thomas Yu was used to. The new Thomas Yu was up for the challenge. You can read about my Montreal experience in a few days, so check back!

I want to make mention of my new little buddy, Iain. He is a young prodigy on the piano and also a chess master! I met him at the seminar and he was gracious enough to play a few tunes for me. Iain, you are a gifted pianist. Keep up the good work, and don’t forget we are going to play a duet someday soon!