INSTEAD of focusing on technique, 17-year-old oboist Ronald Lu Lung-wai said he always reminded himself that the true meaning of music was to convey the idea and content of the music to listeners.
'Music should be alive. Good technique can bring out the background and the spirit of a piece of music, but technique should not be the most important thing,' said the Wong Siu Ching Secondary School sixth former. 'Music can be objective despite the unique styles of individual musicians, and the purpose of music playing is to present the music as close to the history and the original story as possible.' Ronald, who started playing the oboe at the age of nine, said it never crossed his mind that he would learn this musical instrument.
The young musician wanted to take up a second musical instrument after the piano and so he applied to learn the violin at the Music Office eight years ago. 'For some unknown reason, I was told that I was not suitable for the violin. Looking through the list, I found oboe the only instrument that interested me. So I chose it.' Since 1988, Ronald had taken part in the Schools Music Festival six times and is a four-time champion.
Saying that practice is the only key to success, Ronald told Young Post that he used to practise about two hours a day before taking part in competitions. However, his heavy workload at school has forced him to cut back to two hours every two days.
'I believe that practice is more important than talent. I see some of my juniors practising two hours every day and they are able to give a good performance.
'I'm not saying that they are not talented, but the truth is the harder you practise, the better you will do.' Ronald also revealed one of his secrets to anxiety reduction while playing in a contest.
