As his fingers masterfully glide over the black and white piano keys, many shoppers, bags in hand and kids in tow, stop to listen to his beautiful music.
This is 38-year-old Colin Ng. While his playing may be soothing, it is a powerful and stark comparison to the many struggles he had to overcome to get to where he is today.
In an interview with FMT for World Music Day, Ng, together with his mother, Janet Ooi, 63, shared his musical journey.
Ooi said her only child was born blind and with other disabilities – a skull bone defect and “clicky hips, a condition where the baby’s ball and socket hip joint doesn’t develop fully or fit snugly together.
However, when he was just three years old, she discovered her disabled son had a ‘gift’.
She said she was pottering about in the kitchen as her son slept upstairs, when she suddenly heard music playing.
Curious, she hurried back upstairs only to discover her little boy playing a piece of music by Klaus Wunderlich, a German organist, on a musical calculator. It was then, Ooi shared, that she realised her son had musical talent.
Ng, who is able to play by ear, chimed in with a smile, “When I was four, my late father bought me a keyboard. I was so curious and intrigued with the sounds, and it’s something that still I feel even today.”
Realising their son’s potential, Ng’s parents decided to send him for formal music lessons. However, finding a music teacher proved a challenge.
“Nobody wanted to take him in because he was blind. We only found someone willing to teach him the electric organ when he was 10 years old,” Ooi recalled.
Ng eventually began formal piano lessons at 13 years old. However, being blind, he did not study music theory. “I was grateful to be able to start formal piano lessons. However, I kept on playing the organ as a hobby,” Ng added.
His childhood was also marred by health issues. In 1987 and 1995, Ng had to undergo two corrective surgeries in Australia for his skull bone deformities. Additionally, in 1990, he needed back surgery due to a leakage of spinal fluid.
Nevertheless, he still completed his Grade Five practical examinations with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM), a UK examination board that provides music examinations in centres around the world.
He was also academically bright, winning awards for his UPSR and PMR examinations in 1995 and 1998 respectively.
When he was 18, Ng studied music at UCSI University. Since it was a mainstream educational institution, Ooi helped transcribe her son’s reading materials into literary Braille.
Despite the challenges, Ng graduated with a diploma in contemporary music in 2003. According to Ooi, her son was the first visually-impaired student to be musically trained and to graduate from a local institution of higher learning. He completed his degree in the same field in 2006.
After a stint with the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC) as a foyer pianist, Ng became the resident pianist at Bangsar Village in 2007 after his father passed away.
Eagles in the sky
When he was 19 years old, as part of a songwriting assignment, Ng composed a song titled “Eagle”. He said he was inspired by the stories his mother told him about eagles soaring high over their house.
“The song is about a bird with very high hopes and the determination to overcome any barriers in its way. I see myself in that song,” he said animatedly, adding that he has composed 10 songs to date and hopes to release them someday.
“Music has helped to remove the emptiness in my life, and it keeps my mind active. It also uplifts me, and I feel calm when I play. Mostly, I love music because it is a universal language,” he added.
And as for his future plans? “I’ll just take it as it comes!”
On World Music Day today, this inspiring pianist has this to say to other musicians: “If you have the ability to play, don’t give up on music.”
Catch Colin Ng at Bangsar Village II:
Tuesday to Friday: 12.45pm-2.45pm
Saturday and Sunday: 1pm- 3pm