About Me

 How I Started Singing

  I was born in the Philippines but I grew up in Hong Kong. From a young age as a Filipina growing up in Hong Kong I saw singing as a way to connect to my Filipino heritage despite not living in the Philippines. This is because singing is a big part of Filipino culture, there is Karaoke in almost every Filipino party you would encounter. Hence why the stereotype of Filipinos being good singers, our love for singing is something we take pride in. Also, since Filipinos have a family oriented culture, karaoke singing is a way of bonding with family and friends. Thus, I first fell in love with singing through its association to the many fond memories I have growing up attending Filipino parties. 

  Although my parents are not musicians they love music. I always appreciate how supportive and encouraging they are with me singing. I definitely wouldn’t have become a singer if it weren’t for their support in which I am very grateful for. Additionally, my first inspirations were my relatives. Whenever we would visit the Philippines or the United States for vacations, I recall being in awe of hearing my relatives singing and playing different instruments. I also had cousins who would encourage and teach me to sing. 

  However, there was a time in grade 1 or primary 1 in Hong Kong where I unfortunately didn’t get to partake in extracurriculars in music even if I was passionate about it. This was because I struggled a lot in academics and so most of my time was spent on Homework surrounded by academic Tutors. Thankfully It was only till transferring to a different school in grade 2 or primary 2 where we met one of the kindest principals you would ever meet. He loved music and he encouraged me to join the school choirs and annual talent shows. Through that was my first exposure to performing in public which is where I realized how much joy I had singing and performing. 

  Then one day my Aunt wanted me to sing for her wedding and at the time although I like to sing it wasn’t yet something I was naturally good at, I would actually sing out of tune most of the time. Luckily in preparation for my singing performance at her wedding, I came to the realization that this is my passion and I want to start learning it seriously.

  When I told my mom this, I was very lucky she found me an amazing voice teacher! She is my mom’s friend from church and so happens to be a classically trained singer as well as Music Teacher. As my voice teacher she has helped me so much and I am forever grateful to her as I wouldn’t have gotten this far as a singer if it weren’t for her voice lessons. 

  Now in regards to how I discovered Opera was ironically not through an Opera but through a musical! At the time I would actually sing mostly pop songs, specifically Taylor Swift songs like 'Love Story.' which I even performed at the school talent show. So when I first heard “Phantom Of The Opera” the musical I was in awe. I never heard singing like that before and I got so curious about the genre they were showing in the musical. Hence my voice teacher taught me about opera and classical music when she saw my interest in it. I will never forget the goosebumps I got when I first listened to Maria Callas’s performance of “Vissi D'arte” by Puccini from my favorite Opera Tosca. I thought it was amazing how opera singers are able to project without a microphone and can convey so much emotion for the audience to feel. I was like, 'I wanna do that.' 

  From then on, I started doing classical voice competitions, cantoring in Church and eventually after building some confidence I started auditioning. These shows I auditioned for gave me the opportunities to perform to bigger audiences and in bigger venues. I joined the HKYAF, Kids Gallery, Face Production, CentreStage, Vienna Boys Choir Academy, and performed with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong with their performance of Snowman and the Bear. I realized early on that I want to hone and develop my craft by studying Music. Grateful for my secondary school, where I was given a Music Scholarship and was encouraged to continue with my passion, as well as to pursue it in College. 

  So you may be thinking “weren’t you still struggling academically at school on top of all that?” Well what I realized is that learning music had actually helped me with my academic studies. When I started music, I noticed my struggle with school was lessened. I am a firm believer that music helps with our brain development and can also bring joy to people. When I was young I had a poetry teacher who had sadly passed away. But before she passed she shared with me that when she listened to the singing recordings my mom sent her, it cheered and uplifted her. I was very touched to see how music gave her comfort in such difficult times. So I like to think that through singing I can reach, uplift, and touch a lot of people’s hearts and bring happiness to them. It sounds very cliche or cheesy, but that is the goal!"