Mom asked me to take my grandma to a small concert sponsored by her church. I almost said "no" because I'm currently buried 6 feet under piles of work, but my grandma never really gets to go out, so I reluctantly agreed to go.
...and boy am I glad I went.
It turns out the performer is a world renown violinist name Ji-Hae Park. She's traveled around the world performing at places like Carnegie Hall and Washington Kennedy Center with all the top level symphony orchestras in front of thousands of people. She also recently won a Golden Disk for an album she published with Universal Music and spoke at TED as the keynote speaker.
But somehow she decided to drop by a small church in Dallas and perform in front of less than 50 people, all to raise money for local special needs children (David Christian School).
The concert was very intimate and conversational. She even came down from the stage and walked up to the audience while playing with a big smile on her face.
Her performance was full of passion and excitement. At some point, she even took her shoes off and played barefoot as if to say she wasn't going to let some high heels get in her way.
And most importantly – it was personal.
Between songs, she shared her life stories and her battles with depression. All the pressure from success that she accomplished at an early age drove her into extreme depression where she came very close to death due to starvation and exhaustion.
One night while at her lowest point, a song came to her mind. She didn't know what song it was. She never learned it. She never played it. All she knew was that it overtook her and brought peace to her mind. Then she realized it was a hymn song her mom used to sing in desperation after hours of praying for her health. And that was her turning point.
Thankfully, she's all better now (Just watch her play for 10 seconds, then you will be convinced). Actually, the world is better now with her and her kind gestures in it. I'm just glad to be a part of this amazing experience and to have been able to make a small contribution for a good cause.
I wish her the best on her journey around the world as well as good health to continue doing all the great work she's doing.
Sung
P.S. - Don't forget to like her Facebook page and check out her latest albums (May I recommend track 14?). ;D