Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

Kota Kinabalu: Danny Thien is proud that his violinist daughter is shining finally on the international stage at age 16.

But so far it has been a lonely struggle in his bid to make Sabah and Malaysia proud.

He was disappointed at being turned down by the State Government when he sought financial help to enable Demetria to show her musical prowess.

“I needed only RM15,000 but there was no response from the State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry to my letter. So I decided to raise the needed funds on my own as I didn’t want to let her, Sabah and Malaysia down.

“I am glad that I did,” he said because Demetria Yi won the silver at the prestigious Taiwan 6th International Classical and Traditional Music Awards earlier this month.

Danny, 52, said he did everything he could to raise the RM15,000 for tickets and accommodation for his daughter and wife for the Taiwan trip where she performed the 4th, 5th and 6th movements of the Bartók Romanian Folk Dance.

But he doubts he would be able to meet the expenses for the competition in China from Aug. 11 to 16. He would need anywhere between RM20,000 to RM30,000.

He said the Malaysia Musician and Education Association on June 2 wrote to his daughter’s school for permission to allow her to compete in the bigger event – the “New Age Brilliant Young” International Talent finals in Guangzhou, China, in August.

“She will be representing Malaysia on the international stage but where is the government support?” he asked. “The government needs to also look into helping our young talents grow.”

“It’s for eight days. Registration fee is not cheap at RM3,500 and her mother will have to accompany her, as well as teacher Yap Ling. 

“I hope she can make it because she won gold for Malaysia in the prequalification event, while other Asian countries only got silver or bronze.

“Before her Taiwan debut, I wrote to the state tourism ministry but since I did not receive a reply, I don’t have the heart to write again.

“If she was sponsored, Demetria would wear Sabah’s traditional costumes on stage as our Kadazan costume is quite similar to that of the Taiwanese natives.

“This will also promote the state’s tourism,” he said.

Danny said he started Demetria on the violin at age six and in the 10 years that followed she reaped many rewards from local music contests.

“She went to normal home based tutors and centres. Just as she was about to complete Grade 8, we brought her to Yap Ling, a well-known violin figure in the country, to prepare her for the professional level.

 “We wanted her to pick up the violin because it’s a small portable instrument that can be played anywhere. A source of entertainment in their free time instead of wasting playing computer games and handphone.

“Her classes were once a week and her mother pushed her to practice,” he said, adding that two of his other children are also learning the violin.