Her fingers twiddled through the keys of the piano, playing a series of songs, God knows if her mind wanders to once upon a time. It was during that moment of the interview, that she shed a little tear before starting to play again. She recalled a shattering moment in her life, and only music could piece her back.
Born and bred in Sibu, Jennifer Eng, played ‘Castle in the sky’, a soothing song she arranged after hearing it from a wooden music box. “I play that song whenever I think of my dad, and the melody helped me heal my inner grief of my late father when we discovered he was in the final stage of cancer and has less than one and a half months to live.”
Deeply loved by her father, a heartbroken Jennifer was not willing to let him go then, and she still cries now whenever she reminisces. “I love my dad so much,” her fingers still on the keys of the piano as she continued the interview amidst her tears, “But he passed, and it showed how uncertain life is. Whatever you wish to do, you have to do it fast as our time is limited.”
In 2014, she shipped in 13 pianos from Japan for an event, “It was for the sake of this young generation. My vision for them is to input music into their lives, as I know everyone faces stress in life. I believe as a pianist, and through experience, music is a good way to release stress.”
During that time, Jennifer disclosed that her father was already on his deathbed. She explained that the event’s objective was to prove to her father that he had not invested in vain. “With the event in place, I am investing my time and money in helping more people to be blessed with the talent to play music”.
The acclaimed pianist fondly shared her memories from childhood, as she continues playing. She said that her father, apart from sending her to piano lessons on his motorcycle, had also sacrificed a hectare of his land to buy her a mahogany piano at the price of RM5,000, which is a very large sum back then.
The young pianist
As a young girl, Jennifer has always surrounded herself with music. She recalled memories of her dancing and singing, and at nine years old, she saw her cousin playing the piano and was in awe at the way of the ivory keys.
“It is not that bad, the piano looks quite easy from the way they play it,” a little Jennifer thought to herself. Born and raised in Sibu, she went to a local tutor. “I will pack my piano books wherever I go and tell myself I need much practice to be perfect. During our class break, I would imagine playing on the piano by practising on the table and memorising the notes.”
Once she had gotten her piano, Jennifer would weave songs through notes played on it. “My brother has a friend who would go overseas and buy piano notes,” she said. “There was no such thing as getting it online last time, and that friend would lend the notes to my brother and we get to play it,” she continued. That was when Jennifer got herself familiar with the notes of songs like ‘Only you’, ‘You are the love of my life’ and even the theme song of ‘The Godfather’ movie.
When Jennifer was 12, she found herself attuned to the harmony of Richard Clayderman. She still remembers that every night then, she could not sleep well unless she plays his song. “I would practise from 11 pm to 1 am,” she said. Even so, she added that she would not feel tired at school the next day as her passion is burning. “I have no choice, I can’t sleep, so I have to play,” the 52-year-old said.
Determined to not let her father down, she skipped grade 2 and 4, finally completing grade 8 at 17. She started working with Yamaha in 1985 after secondary school. However, it was her pursuit in 1988 when she taught 30 students from Bintangor, that started her teaching career.
“The number of students grew, and their parents were supportive and encouraging. Sometimes, their mothers would cook me nice food and when we finished teaching at 8 pm, I would sleep in a double-decker bed together with my students,” she said.
The next year, when she turned 21, she started her first music centre, the ‘Yamaha Grace Music School’ at Bintangor, in collaboration with Yamaha headquarters. Jennifer would travel via an hour journey express boat to teach for eight hours, and at times, she would have to stay overnight as she missed the last express boat back if she finished her classes late.
“Initially there was no proper bed, just mattress on the floor, and as the shophouse were near the sea, there were lots of small insects and it was so irritating that I could not sleep.”
“During those times I did tell myself to be patient and every step I just treated it as a learning process as I know one day I will be successful,” she said gladly.
In search of satisfaction
In 1993, Jennifer joined Ambank Group as a marketer before moving to Miri, to settle down. A year into her marriage, she gave birth to her first daughter in 1998.
Then, she taught only during the weekends as it was still her passion. Soon, she had gotten over 50 students and had to teach during the weekdays too.
Four years later, her family expanded with the birth of her son, and a year later a preemie daughter. Despite all the hardships faced, she persevered as she believed that God’s is with her. “I truly believe that God works and whatever we do, we need to seek for God’s wisdom and strength as He has blessed us in so many ways and many at times we forgot to count our blessings and always take things for granted.”
In 2003, she returned to Ambank Group and became successful in her career as a marketer. But still, she was not satisfied. “Even though I was successful working with Ambank, it was not something that I wanted to do. What I really wanted to do was music,” a determined Jennifer said.
Turning 40 in 2007, she decided to spent the rest of her life with music.
The entwinement of music and life
Music had saved her life one too many times. It was music that had been there with her through her darkest moments and also her proudest moments. “As parents, I think it is important to guide them with music, as I feel, we cannot guide them ourselves for the rest of our life,” Jennifer said.
To her, a person can be alone throughout life, but music can help them in times of need. “I am glad that my dad invested in me and allowed me to have a place to express myself. Music is able to inculcate a healthy hobby that can help during depressing times.”
Today, Jennifer is always on the go, encouraging more to learn music. The most rewarding part for her is to be able to watch her students play onstage. “I find that witnessing it is part of my achievement in life.”
“Music is not just something you listen, but when you play, you can feel it — it is different if you only listen to it — because it is the mechanism of your brain, and hand coordination, and your whole heart.”
From the day she discovered music, Jennifer explained that there are pieces and bits of her life and achievement she could not mention. However, she is content as music accompanies her every step and she is forever guided by it.
In 2016, Jennifer opened Maestro Music School at CityOne Megamall, Kuching to help more people reach out to their musical talent.
Using a new method to teach, she can help students learn a song on the piano in one lesson.
On weekends, in a bid to encourage more youth to discover their passion in music, Jennifer plays at the Al Dente Restaurant, Saradise, Kuching.
On another interesting note, the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah sponsored 10 selected students from different schools to join Jennifer’s Maestro Talent Programme to inculcate a healthy hobby.
This year, Jennifer is reaching out to corporate companies to collaborate with Maestro on this CSR programmes to train youths and also to unearth their musical talents.
