Philbert Tiki Yong (finalist, Second Arts Olympiad, Malaysia)

What is after ICAF 2003?

Nearly two years have past since the Third Arts Olympiad in Washington, DC. ICAF was a wonderful and memorable experience not only for me, but for all child artists and their families, but the question now is, what's after ICAF 2003? What have we child artists been doing after ICAF2003? For me, these are among the few things that I did after returning to Malaysia after ICAF.

December 2003

Oh, I just love December! December is the month where all of us in Malaysia have our End-Year School Break. It starts in Late November, and usually lasts till the first week of January. So, most of us students are rather free and easy during these holidays. In Mid-December, I joined the "Toys R Us Dress Up Your Favorite Toy Character Contest" and I won 2nd prize. A week later, I won the Peter Pan Carnival "Best Dressed Peter Pan" by Buena Vista Tri-star Films. My sister clinched the 1st prize for the "Best Dressed Tinkerbell". I also participated in the "Peter Pan Creative Reading Competition" which was also held in the same carnival in Kuala Lumpur. I won the Grand Prize which was a Trip to London for three.

January 2004

My family and I went to London. As soon as we stepped out of the aircraft, we felt the freezing weather of winter. As we were much too used to the climate here in Malaysia, which usually gets as hot as 37 degrees Celsius, it was rather cold for us. Nevertheless, it was my sister's and my wish to experience snow. I was amazed by the museums in London, as they were just like those in D.C (Unfortunately, we couldn't visit all of them in D.C. I really wish that I can go back that again to visit the museums). They were gigantic! We practically spent a day in the Natural History Museum. We also went to other tourist attractions, such as Buckingham Palace, Westminister Abbey, Big Ben and the Greenwich Observatory. I managed to visit two art galleries, the National Gallery of Art, Trafalgar Square and Tate Modern. There were fabulous masterpieces inside.

March 2004

I sat for my ABRSM Theory Grade 5 Examinations.

I represented Yellow House to receive the donation of 10 go-carts from Carlson Marketing Group, which was held in Concorde Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. My sister and I were with 5 other orphans during the event. All of us had a good time together.

April 2004

I was appointed as the Junior Ambassador to Yellow House for the opening of "Smartkids Exhibition 2004" which was held in the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

I went for the Mensa Scrabble Competition, held in Petaling Jaya, a town near Kuala Lumpur. I emerged as the Best Junior Player of the tournament.

May 2004

I was invited to be a presenter for two "Family Fun Day" concerts with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Besides being a presenter, I also had to dance Ballet with seven other ballerinas. I did it! The concert was conducted by the Associate Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Kevin Field. The concert was held in Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS, in Kuala Lumpur.

Later that month, I presented a "sajak" (a form of Malay literature, nearly the same as poems) for the launch of the MPH (Malaysian Publication House) Megastore in 1 Utama, Kuala Lumpur.

On the final days of May, I worked together with Yellow House to launch ICAF's Third Arts Olympiad, themed Art and Sport. I also worked with orphans from various homes. We went to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and welcomed various Thai celebrities. In KLIA, Yellow House organized a guided tour in an Air Asia Boeing 737. We went into the cockpit of the aircraft and had a brief explanation from the captain about how the airplane works. We also saw friendly soccer matches between the Thai Celebrities and other soccer teams. The official launching of the Third Arts Olympiad was at the Federal Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. I delivered a speech about my experiences in ICAF 2003.

June 2004

I played the Violin in the Encounter Strings Ensemble, under the baton of Mr. Gergely Sugar, in the Musical Jamboree of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra's Student Recital 2004, held in the Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS, Kuala Lumpur.

August 2004

I participated in the "Notthatbalai" Art Festival. I participated in the music section, and played the violin. I played two pieces, "Tanah Pusaka" (My homeland), a Malay Traditional song and Paragon Rag, by Scott Joplin.

After being exposed to Ballet, I decided to learn it. I started my Ballet class in Grade 2.

August 31st marks a historical date for Malaysia. It marks the Independence Day of Malaysia. Malaysia gained independence on the 31st of August 1957. In conjunction of Independence Day, I recited a "sajak" entitled "Malaysiaku Tercinta" (My beloved Malaysia) in front of all my school mates in school. I won the 1st prize for the sajak recital.

October 2004

My artwork entitled "World Peace" was selected for the Utopia Station Project, exhibited in Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany. Unfortunately, I couldn't go to Germany, but I was happy to see other children spreading the word of peace through art in Germany. I also went for the "Peter Pan-the Musical" audition. Unfortunately, I wasn't selected, but my sister got in to the musical. She played the role of one of the Red Indian Girls.

November 2004

It's that time of the year again! School Holidays! This time, my family and I followed my sister up to Genting Highlands, a holiday resort located 6000 feet above sea level, up in the highlands of Malaysia. "Peter Pan-the Musical" was held there, in the Genting International Showroom. We were there until a week before Christmas.

December 2004

The tragic December 26 tsunami struck South and Southeast Asia. Many lives were claimed, leaving survivors, homeless, and suffering from starvation and illnesses. When my family and I heard the devastating news, our first reaction was to help the living. We immediately bought canned food, and dried groceries, mainly canned baked beans and rice, to be donated to the Tsunami victims through the Buddhist Maha Vihara Temple, Kuala Lumpur. The donations were shipped to Sri Lanka.

March 2005

I represented my school in my school Drama team, for the Inter-school Drama Competition 2005. Our Drama was entitled "What if���". I was the narrator of the Drama.

April 2005

I sat my first RAD (Royal Academy of Dancing) Examination, Grade 2.

A couple of days after the examination, I went for the "Oliver! the Musical" audition which was held in Kuala Lumpur. I got through the audition. We had to sing and read part of the Oliver! script. I was among the 16 local cast which got in to the musical. I will be performing with the London West End actors who have performed in renowned shows as Scrooge, Copacabana, Les Miserables, Hey! Mr Producer, Fame, My Fair Lady, Me & My Girl, Summer Holiday, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Cats!

I participated in three inter-school poster drawing competitions. They were entitled "Sayangi Bumi Kita" ( Love our Earth), "Kitar Semula Alam Bersih" (Recycle to keep the Enviroment Clean) and "Sains dan Teknologi Asas Kemajuan" ( Science and Technology towards Modernization).

May 2005

"Oliver! the Musical" was held at the same venue where "Peter Pan the Musical" was held, in Genting Highlands Resort. I was performing with 25 London West End cast and 15 other local boys. It was a big production, featuring moving sets and revolving stages. We had intensive training and rehearsals for the first ten days, before the show opened on the 26th of May. I played the role of one of the Workhouse boys and one of the boys in Fagin's Gang. I was there for a month, inclusive of rehearsal and performing days. It was a great experience. I learnt that working with so many people involve great teamwork and cooperation. Without that the show will be a disaster.

In the midst of performing in Oliver! I had to sit for my ABRSM Practical Violin Grade 7 Examination. I received a distinction for both my previous Grade 5 Practical and Theory Violin Examination.

June 2005

I am currently painting a mural in my school. It is based on an underwater theme, mainly consisting of marine life.

I will be sitting for a major government examination in secondary school this year. There is a lot of school work and assignments to be done. The examination will be held from the 2nd to the 11th of October.