Thank You My First Music Teachers

This Thanksgiving Day, I want to thank my very first music teachers...my parents.

I am...

...Thankful to my parents for always having classical music playing at home or in the car. We got to listen to some of the greatest composers that ever lived and to some of the greatest pieces of music ever composed (even though I did not know who or what I was listening to at the time).

...Thankful to my parents for taking us to church and making me sing in my father's church choir. I got to see my father in his element, and not just as the strict father but also as the strict and talented choir director. He could take a group of normal, everyday people who were doctors, teachers, housewives, dry cleaning business owners, senior citizens, college students, etc., who were not trained musicians by profession but just had a love for music; and he would be able to create really beautiful music of high caliber with us.

...Thankful to my parents for making us go to all their Korean Oratorio Society of Chicago concerts that my father conducted and where my mom sang every Christmas at church over the years. I got to listen to beautiful music like the Handel’s Messiah and see my parents share their love for music with the Chicago Korean community.

I may not have been able to study or major in music and voice in school (my parents meant well. I know they just wanted me to have a better life than they did), and while I can't lie and say it wasn't heartbreaking and extremely painful not being able to and not having the support to pursue my dream to sing professionally for so long; I must say that I owe my childhood of being exposed to beautiful music to my parents. Because I grew up in a house surrounded by music and was able to listen to classical music growing up, I was able to absorb music.

So thank you my parents for being my first music teachers. That exposure to music you gave me will always be a part of me and still helps me to this day.