By Muhammad Basir Roslan
KUALA LUMPUR: Dr Julian Lee is a soulful violinist and doctor, whose mission is to use his musical talent to serve and inspire others.
Embracing his two passions in music and medicine, the good doctor is a firm believer that “music heals.”
When the 29-year old from Gelugor, Penang was caught between a career as a doctor and as a violinist, he realised his place was in the middle, with a bow in his hand and his patients’ best interests at heart. That’s what sets him apart from other artistes.
Acknowledging that the two seemingly unrelated fields of music and medicine are profoundly complementary, he said it has turned into an opportunity to learn and cultivate empathy and collaboration among his medical colleagues.
No doubt, balancing the two careers is no mean feat but he believes that passion and commitment to the greater good can produce endless results, noting that he is satisfied with what he has been doing thus far, as “what matters most is that I make everyone happy.”
“It is true that juggling my permanent job as a doctor at Penang General Hospital with my obligations to accept numerous offers to give violin performances all around the nation is not simple. However, if we are good at arranging our work schedule, then nothing in this world is impossible,” he told Bernama when contacted recently.
Prepared all the time
To plan time off from work, Dr Julian said he manages his daily schedule by keeping track of the number of invitations to violin performances he receives every month.
Toward this end, he is grateful for being blessed with colleagues at the hospital who have been his pillars of support especially when he needs to prepare ahead of his performance.
“All of my friends are really supportive of what I do, and if I have a show that day, some of them are prepared to put in extra time to make up for my shift. I could not possibly be where I am today without them.
“To prepare for the performance, I normally discuss with the customer regarding the type of song preferred. I will practise regularly at night after my work shift and create a musical arrangement to give a unique variation to the selected song once we have agreed on it,” said Dr Julian, who self-composed his music.
He said that if the agreed song is a new pop song, he needs to memorise the melody and have a really solid grasp of the number.
Dr Julian also enjoys performing popular classic songs in most of his performances, such as Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Vallie and Getaran Jiwa by the legendary Seniman Agung Negara, the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee.
String of accolades
Dr Julian’s musical journey took shape when he was just five years old. With a string of accolades under his belt for his awe-inspiring violin rendition, he personally felt that music is for everyone to enjoy, not just for himself.
He won first prize in two violin competitions – the Kota Kinabalu Music Festival in 2010 and the Kuala Lumpur’s Malaysian Youth Music Festival in 2013.
“Other than that, I have also been awarded the Society for Education & Research Development (SERD) India Excellence Awards in 2016 for my outstanding contribution to the field of instrumental music. In addition, I also received McMillan Rising Star Awards under the category of Most Promising Violinist of The Year 2017 by McMillan Woods Global Awards held in Kuala Lumpur, making me among a few Malaysians to receive such awards,” he said.
In recent years, Dr Julian has performed before notable leaders such as the then prime ministers of Malaysia Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as well as royalties, including the late Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah and Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak.
His outstanding talent was also recognised internationally, as he was invited to perform in Singapore and Bali, Indonesia at the Citigold Private Client Dinner 2022 and Nokia APJ Sales Conference Awards Dinner 2023 respectively.
All these achievements could not have been possible without the support of his mother Liow Yuh Lan, a school teacher who is his beacon of light especially in the face of adversity.
He also shares the credit with his late violin teacher Brian Tan Wee Thean who taught him the most about music but succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2011.
Integrating music therapy
According to Dr Julian, music can truly be employed as a therapeutic intervention.
Describing music as a potent weapon, he said when used effectively, it may change emotions and heal the soul, which will be advantageous for the national medical sector in the near future.
Sharing his recent trip as a medical undergraduate from Universiti Malaya to Austria, he said several psychiatric institutions there used music therapy to treat patients, adding that in most cases, patients reported an improved mood following the therapy.
“I can see that this therapy is still rarely used, so it would be fantastic if it could be incorporated into our facilities. I believe that music therapy can be seen as the best option to further enhance the comprehensive patient treatment system.
“We can begin with government hospitals through occupational therapy,” he said, pointing out that Malaysia can pick up a few pointers from the European medical sector to further improve the domestic healthcare system. – BERNAMA
