Eric's Beijing Diary

Melissa is on a tour through the northern part of China with her college choir. This morning I took the subway to Fuchengmen, then took a cab over to the Forbidden City. When I said goodbye to Melissa three years ago at the Greyhound bus station in Roseburg, I could not have imagined that the next time I saw her, I would be standing outside the north gate of the Forbidden City, waiting for her to come out of the Ming Dynasty palace. Life has it's twists and turns.

This evening I went to the China Academy of Fine Arts for a concert by her choir. Melissa has always been a good singer, so I was not surprised that she did well. But I was impressed with how her voice shows the effect of long-term, disciplined training. When she was young, the thing that impressed me most about Melissa was her ear. You know how it is with kids--sometimes they are not to sure where they belong on the scale. But Melissa always had a razor sharp pitch. She consistently hit the notes dead on. There is a big difference, though, between a kid with a strong voice and an ear for music, and a young lady whose voice has been refined through extensive, rigorous training. Trust me folks, this kid is going places.