In 2004, Leanne Li (李亞男) clinched the crown of Miss Chinese Vancouver not only with her beauty, but also with her skillful playing of the flute. Not only can Leanne play the flute, she started playing the piano at 5 years old and was self-taught in guitar. On top of her musically-inclined talents, she is also adept at oil painting. Leanne’s childhood was spent honing her skills, and she studied fine arts at the University of British Columbia. The Piano When Leanne was 5 years old, her mother had great aspirations of her daughter becoming a multi-talented beauty, similar to girls of ancient times. As a result, she hired a piano teacher for Leanne to take piano lessons. Though her piano teacher was strict and often hit her with a ruler at the smallest mistake, Leanne continued to suffer in silence because she knew her mother and grandmother have great hopes for her. Only when her mother asked her if she wanted to continue learning when she was 9 years old, did Leanne dare to speak the truth and end her misery. The Flute For her music requirements in junior high school, Leanne chose to play the flute. Although similar in build, Leanne much prefers the flute to the clarinet for its beautiful timbre and the melodic music it can make. However, Leanne’s lack of breath often resulted in her feeling faint and dizzy after playing a piece of music. Leanne explained, “To play the flute well, you first need to take a deep breath and then in that breath, you play a few lines. Otherwise, the listeners will be able hear the buffeting air sound and that’s horrible!” Leanne especially loved the times when she could get together with her friends in an ensemble. Her lack of breath did not prevent her from taking part. She disclosed when it comes to the high notes, she would either play softer or pretend to be blowing hard on the flute, so that she would not spoil the entire piece of music when playing in an ensemble. A year after she learnt how to play the flute, Leanne neglected it, only to relish it 7 years later, when she took part in the Miss Chinese Vancouver pageant. She recalled fondly, “I had had a vision of myself with my flowing long hair and dress flapping in the wind while I play the flute. It would have been so breathtaking and could have helped me win points.” Leanne hired a teacher to help her and within 2 months, she managed to master the piece of music which won the hearts of the judges and helped her clinch the crown. From then on, the flute has constantly stayed by Leanne’s side and became her accompaniment in performances. The Guitar Leanne’s love for music continued when she self-taught herself to play the guitar after her younger sister mastered it. Strumming the guitar while belting out her favorite songs has become one of Leanne’s pastimes. Leanne also used the guitar to serenade to her boyfriend, Wong Cho Lam (王祖藍) on Christmas. The guitar was a birthday present from Cho Lam. The couple made plans to play the guitar together, but due to his work commitments, Cho Lam did not have the time to learn. Painting Besides music, Leanne also loves sketching and oil painting. Leanne said, “Although there was a model for us to sketch, I added many details of my own such as logos and trademarks, into my sketching. I wanted to illustrate the material world.” Painting and sketching not allows her to express herself freely, it also allows Leanne to look into the finer details in life. Leanne’s inspiration and love for the arts came from her designer father. She said with admiration, “My father used to draw the portraits of Mao Zedong (毛澤東). Even if the picture was 5 stories high, my father could easily paint the portrait just by climbing onto the frame. He’s that good!” Leanne had initially wanted to follow her father’s footsteps and become a designer, but joining the beauty pageant led her to Hong Kong and changed her career path. Creds: Oriental Daily
