A Talk with Judith Yan

There are over 7000 languages around the world – but only one we immediately understand. Even as a child, I knew music was the one language that had the magical power of connecting everyone, no matter where you were from!

My parents understood the value of music and wanted to give me that gift. At age 4, I started ballet, at age 6, the piano. These early influences opened my mind to a different way of looking at the world. When I was 9, my family moved to Canada from Hong Kong and although Canada was so different geographically and culturally, that didn’t matter at all as music instantly became my connecting point. In my work, I’ve conducted in Europe and UK, Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong and South Korea – while the language of the country may change, the music remains the same. 

There’s also something about music that expresses what one (sometimes) cannot say out loud… This is especially true in opera, musical theatre, or song, where the music gives additional depth to the meaning of the text, sometimes revealing a contradictory truth to the words you hear.

But I think best of all is this: music creates an indescribable sense of belonging for the audience as much as for the performers; this I feel strongly when I collaborate with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. If you look at the guest artists SSO brings in, it’s people from every kind of background and experience. Yet, when we start playing the distance and differences disappear, and the audience, even the ones sitting in the furthest balcony, we feel like they’re right beside us. It’s quite magical, don’t you think?