Meet Andrea, the youngest of the Chan sisters power trio.
TCO: How long have you been with the TCO?
A: I’ve been with TCO for about 4 – 5 years.
TCO: What keeps you coming back?
A: Playing together as a whole, listening to other sections and trying to help each other improve by practicing. It is more fun to make music with people who enjoy it and play with passion.
TCO: What instrument do you play and how long have you been playing?
A: I play many instruments in the percussion section of TCO, such as paigu (set of drums), cymbals, wooden fish, big/small drum, bells, and much more. I started out playing smaller instruments when I first joined the orchestra because it felt more comfortable to me and I was not confident in drumming. I’ve been playing in the percussion section for a few years.
TCO: How did you get started with this instrument?
A: When I was younger, my Dad started taking me to the orchestra rehearsals every Friday. To me, all the instruments seemed really hard, and the percussion section was lacking players. I later then picked up some rhythms and learned how to keep steady tempos after learning how to read the x’s and o’s and going to rehearsals every Friday nights.
TCO: What other instruments do you play?
A: I play many instruments, but I’m not that great with them. I like experimenting and trying out instruments. Currently, I play the double bass and bass guitar at school. I’ve also played the cello, violin, percussion instruments (in TCO) and self taught piano a bit.
TCO: Other activities that you enjoy on spare time?
A: In my spare time, I enjoy gaming, reading about cats/virology, playing bass guitar/piano, and watching TV.
TCO: Anything you’d like to share with other TCO members and fans that come to the concerts?
A: Thank you to all the TCO members and fans that have made every year fun and successful! Special thanks to my Dad who introduced me to the orchestra/percussion section, my sisters Agnes and Jaimie (cellist and bassist of TCO) who I can laugh and share silly moments with, Frederick (principal dizi player) for assembling our percussion section rehearsals, our conductor, Karl Pang for teaching us many things to become a good orchestra member, and many friends in TCO who are very welcoming and supportive.
