A Music Educator From Afar - Father Ma Liang

There is a very important elder in my life. Even if there is no blood relationship, he regards us as the elder whose own children are hurting. We all call him "Father" and he is indeed as important to me as my father.
He is Father Ma Liang who used to work at my alma mater, Weidao Middle School.

A group of priests and monks who have traveled across the ocean to dedicate to education

The Wei Dao Middle School in Taichung was first established by the Canadian Catholic "San Wei Dao Association". The religious members who were originally assigned by Canada also participated in the education courses in the school. As time progressed, some members were ordained priests and became priests.
I entered the school very late and had already missed Father Shao, who taught English, but I could still see the tall monk Shi who was in charge of the recycling work on the campus.

As for Father Ma Liang, I didn't know him until I went straight to high school.
But before that, my brother was one step ahead of me and went straight to the middle school, and also entered the wind band directed by Father Ma Liang in advance, so I knew Father Ma from a very young age.

Father Ma Liang's brainchild - Wei Dao Band

The Violin Band includes woodwinds (clarinet, flute, oboe, saxophone), brass (trumpet, trombone, french horn, barry hole, euphonium (Tuba), euphonium (Baritone)) and percussion instruments (timpani, jazz, etc.).

Father Ma Liang's own majors are trumpet and cello, but all the above instruments are taught to students one-on-one by Father Ma Liang, and most of the students also learn from scratch.

Our class time is not only the music class every Monday, but also one-hour group practice time after school from 5:00 to 6:00 every day before the resident students eat (late meals will be recorded as labor service, but meal time will not be affected by limit). There is also a club class every week that can also be used for group practice.
Since the resident students start their evening self-study at 7:00, the music classroom will be closed at 6:50 at the latest. During this period, the seniors and sisters of each instrument will lead the juniors and sisters to conduct branch exercises.

I didn't think so when I was a child, but when I grew up, I really felt that the priest was very amazing! The teaching system established by him alone, and then practiced by the elder sister's inheritance branch, just like this pulls up the children with zero foundation!

And as far as I can remember, we only need to focus on practice and do not need to maintain the wind instruments at all, because the priest will be responsible for the regular maintenance and repair of all the instruments.

Frankly speaking, it was not until I grew up that I realized that this part of the work is not only very exhausting, but also very expensive!

Of course, since the priest was still one of the directors of the school at that time, the school had given some financial support, but the priest handled all the above trivial matters without the help of others.

In addition to the national anthem and the national flag anthem for the daily flag raising, the Wei Daoguan Band also plays various marches from time to time after the end of the meeting, and the performance will not end until the classes have left the assembly hall. In addition to performing three or four pieces at the school Christmas party, the annual official performance opportunity will also hold a concert in Zhongxing Hall!
Every year, the concert will select world famous songs such as Wagner, Brahms, Baja, etc. that rarely appear in the repertoire of teenage wind bands.

I remember that there is also a portrait of Brahms in the priest's office, which gives a glimpse of the priest's love for Brahms.
But every year, senior sisters coax Xiao Gao Yi to say that it is a portrait of the priest's grandfather (squirting), often Xiao Gao Yi has to wait for a while before realizing that he has been deceived, and then turns his head to deceive the new Xiao Gao Yi. ..

A nearly broken youth memory

When I was a freshman in high school, a female classmate who came straight up from middle school with me (that was our fourth year in the same class) suddenly took a bus to the school on a weekend by herself to accompany me to study, although it was a bit abnormal, But because there is a very intensive big exam every other week, many students also return to the class to study together. At that time, I was not the only dormitory student who stayed at the weekend (without returning to Nantou's home).
She followed me to the restaurant for dinner, and stayed in our dormitory until the door of the dormitory was closed and the evening study began. Before she left, she gave me a book by Haruki Murakami.

Then...
She never came to school again...
Because she jumped off the top floor of her house that Monday morning...
He left after two days in the hospital.

Many people, including teachers, instructors, and classmates, kept asking me afterward, what happened to her? Did she say anything in particular? Or talk about what?

Frankly, I have absolutely no clue at all!

Our two high school seats have always been nearby, but because she has a very gentle personality and doesn't talk much, our communication is also very limited. To me, she's not even my closest, best friend, at best she's familiar!
However, I don't know her at all outside of school!

Later, the book of Haruki Murakami, I asked the teacher to transfer it back to her parents at that time, after all, it has her last handwriting on it.

The teacher said that she wrote all her books with the names of the classmates she wanted to donate, but maybe I was the only one who didn’t go back to Nantou because I stayed in Taichung for self-study. It was relatively easy for her to meet, so she personally sent the books to me. .
And the books to give to others are still on her bookshelf.

At the time, I felt that everyone looked at me with a ' why ? '' You must know something ! 』
Gradually, I became so stressed that I couldn't concentrate, and I couldn't even speak properly...

During that time, Father Ma Liang was always with me.
Even later, the instructor repeatedly asked the dormitory teacher to accommodate me, so that I could stay in the music classroom for a longer time every day and return to the dormitory later.

Although I don't remember how the priest led me out at that time, I always remember that he always took the trouble to repeat to me:

it's not your fault boy

At that moment when I felt that my youth would also come to an end, because of the priest and because of the music, I came through it smoothly.

Looking back on this incident over the years, I slowly understand that not everything has a chance to know the reason.
However, you must cherish every moment when people get together, you never know if you turn your head, it is the last look!

The songs we played in those years

Since we were only a small to medium orchestra, the version of the arrangement we played at the time was a bit difficult to find, and it was slightly different from the scores selected by large orchestras on the Internet.
But please allow me to find videos of the same songs on the Internet to share with you the songs that impressed me in those years,

1. Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries

2. Mozart: Overture to "The Marriage of Figaro"

3. Brahms Hungarian March No. 5

4. Les Misérables | Do You Hear the People Sing?

5. Schindler's List

6. Canon

Because of the priest, let me know the beauty of the recorder (clarinet), and there is a must-practice ensemble score in our clarinet is Canon! Allow me to end my sharing with this tune!

Fr. Ma Liang's Musical Contributions

After Father Ma Liang was transferred back to Canada in 2006, although he did not devote himself to the education of the pipe band, he still participated in the local musical theatre club. It was not until his cancer became more and more serious that he left the music circle altogether.

Over the years, Father Ma Liang has also created many musicians by hand, including the famous saxophone teacher Wang Yuwen , the American flute player Professor Lin Hongjun , the Taipei Symphony Orchestra's chief bassist Chen Jianxun , Taichung University of Education and Kaohsiung Normal University Music Department Chen Junwei Teacher wait.

After Father Ma Liang left Taiwan, the seniors and sisters recruited Ma Liang's sons scattered all over Taiwan and established the " Guardian Philharmonic Association ", which also took over the inheritance of music.

When Father Ma Liang passed away in 2013, the seniors and sisters made a commemorative film. In five minutes of this video, there is a clip of "You Raise Me Up" performed by the "Philharmonic Society of the Way" for the priest. There is also a short documentary clip of visiting a seriously ill priest with this performance video. Father Marion is from Quebec, Canada, so he speaks French in the film.

write at the end

In my heart, the priest who would wink at me on the way to command because I played exactly the note he wanted, the priest who would pat me on the shoulder and say, " Son, it's not your fault ", never left. .
I remember that every time he went to downtown Taichung to deliver his musical instrument for repair, he liked to eat eel fried noodles at the Zhonghua Road Night Market. I remember he was afraid of the smell of stinky tofu. I also remember that he would always ride a bicycle or It's a walk with a rosary...

I am very happy that Father Ma Liang has come into my life!
I also remember everything he taught us and will continue to pass on that kindness.
Let more children have access to music and fall in love with music.

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(For stories of people who end their lives at a young age, read this article by Mary Ventura )
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