Every few years, I invite readers and colleagues to contribute guest columns in the series Technology and my Hobby/Passion. Over a hundred contributed in the last decade on their birding, charities, cooking, music, sports and every other passion, and how it keeps evolving with technology. Click here and scroll down to read them all.
This time it is Sandra Lo, who has been working as a corporate communications professional in Silicon Valley for two decades. Currently as the Head of Corporate Communications at Zoho, she leads media, analyst and influencer relations across the company’s numerous regions worldwide. Prior to joining Zoho, Sandra worked at software companies big and small including FinancialForce, Adobe, Xero and Salesforce. Sandra resides in the Bay Area and is a proud mother to two boys and a pug. Here she writes about her superb piano skills:
Is piano playing a passion of mine? Yes, I would say so, but the journey to find that passion has involved a fair amount of both pleasure and pain.
Starting very young
My first exposure to a keyboard was at the age of 1. I was told the keyboard was a small toy. That quickly became my favorite toy. By the age of 3, my parents had enrolled me in piano lessons, and as they would tell me, by age 4, I was playing Minuets by Bach. My parents nurtured my inner performer and trained me to thrive on applause and compliments. I still remember being asked to perform in front of relatives and family friends, sometimes even in public spaces with a piano. I always enjoyed performing as a kid. I sang, danced and played the piano.
As I entered elementary school, my love for playing the piano deepened. Very early on, I knew my favorite composers were from the Baroque and Classical periods. Bach, Scarlatti, and Handel were my Baroque favorites, and Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart were my Classical favorites. I didn’t just play the pieces - my playing had matured into being able to feel the phrasing and emotions as intended by these composers. I learned to appreciate every note and every chord because they were meant to emote. Each time I played a piece, I immersed myself in the music and in the composer’s world during the stage of life where these beautiful pieces were written.
Sandy playing a note from Dear Evan Hansen
The frustrated teenager
By the end of elementary school, I was playing advanced classical pieces and participating in piano competitions. My piano teacher at the time put a lot of pressure on me to place and frankly, I put a lot of pressure on myself as well to bring home a trophy each time. I was expected to practice 90 minutes a day by 5th grade and not allowed to watch TV until I finished homework and piano practice. I felt this was a turning point for me. What I loved about playing piano and performing had turned into a heavy ball and chain that tied me down from being a regular kid for the next few years.
My competition and performance schedule ramped up during my junior high years. Instead of going to birthday parties or hanging out at the mall with friends during weekends, I had to decline those invitations and focus on my piano schedule. I would cry to my parents and lament that I only had piano in my life but nothing else. I hated being tied to the ‘piano jail cell’ at that point in life. The invitations eventually stopped coming - I had friends at school but they stopped inviting me to parties or to the movies. But despite detesting what piano was doing to my social life, I felt the pressure to make my parents and teacher proud, and that meant winning. I won nearly every category I competed in from Baroque Festival, Sonata Festival, to Southwestern Youth Music Festival. While other parents drove their kids to sports games weekend after weekend, my parents drove me to piano commitments all over California.
Sandy playing from The Phantom of the Opera
Was I happy? I was happy that I won, but it was for my parents, not for me. Everyone who heard me play told me that I had a rare musicality talent. I didn’t know what that meant and didn’t really care either. I wanted to be a regular teenager. I wanted to buy cassettes of Top 40 singles and talk about them with my friends. But I wasn’t allowed to even listen to non-classical music at home. I was embarrassed that my weekends were full of piano performances and often lied to my friends that I went somewhere fun instead, just to try to fit in.
The turning point
At this point, you are probably wondering, is this really a passion of Sandy’s? Where are we headed with this column? My insecurity as a teenager with no social life peaked at one point. We moved to a bigger house in a new city, and I needed to fit in at a new school. This year is what I would now call the worst year of my life. I was regularly bullied as a new student, I had no friends. To say the least, I wasn’t fitting into the new environment well. As an emotional teenager, I really didn’t feel like I had anything to live for. Except piano. I knew I was great at it. I drenched my emotions into the music I was learning. I poured in hours of time to not just practice, but playing the pieces to perfection. I would spend hours studying recordings by renowned pianists and soak in their interpretation of each piece, to come up with my own interpretation. My piano resume reached new heights during this time. Not only was I winning competitions, I enjoyed what I was able to create on the piano. I was no longer just playing piano -- I was making meaningful music that was close to my heart. Piano gave me the self-confidence and assurance I needed at a very vulnerable time that things are going to be ok. I felt better than the mean things my classmates called me. It was yet another turning point -- the one that turned piano playing into a lifelong passion.
By the time I graduated from high school, I not only had shelves full of trophies, I was also a ranked in the top 25 piano players in the state of California. I had my choice of college scholarships, but only as a Music major. I loved piano but I knew I wanted to continue playing music on my own terms. So I did not pursue music in college, but it continued to be part of my life and continues to be so today. Whenever I feel sad, I express my feelings on the piano. When I am anxious, I know which songs will give me hope and calm. And when I feel excitement, my exuberance comes through in the music as well. I still love playing classical music regularly but I also play plenty of Broadway pieces now, and since becoming a mom, I play the entire Disney repertoire as well for my kids. To this day, I continue to lead the Christmas sing-along in family get-togethers. Piano music is love, it is human and it is a huge part of who I am.
Sandy playing from Greatest Showman
Pandemic Piano
Since the shelter-in-place order a month ago, I have found myself frequently going to the piano to process my emotions and thoughts. Sometimes we play together as a family, sometimes I sit on the piano bench solo trying out new pieces. On a couple occasions, playing the songs led me to break open the tears I’ve been holding back in trying to stay strong for my kids during this chaotic time. But that was exactly what I needed, and playing piano has allowed me that opportunity.
Across the post are a few clips of me playing the piano while reflecting on the pandemic. Above are a medley of Broadway hits from Dear Evan Hansen, Phantom of the Opera and Greatest Showman; below are a Baroque and two Classical pieces. I hope you also find comfort in these songs. Together, with the help of music and our individual passions, we will get through this pandemic. Stay safe.
Bach French Suite 2
Mozart Sonata No. 11
Mozart Sonata No. 12
Sandy, this is beautiful. I usually play Chopin for Ian to fall asleep to every night, but we’ll listen to you tonight.
Posted by: Sandra | April 17, 2020 at 09:03 PM
Sandy, wow, wow, wow - I was a Sandy fan and now I'm even a bigger one.
Posted by: Ramon Ray | April 24, 2022 at 08:13 PM