Fire in the Belly

By (Gloria) Pricilla Damian

I am sitting at Mel Jay’s dining table in the middle of her open-plan kitchen-dining-living area. Outside, birds chirrup, dry leaves rustle on the patio and there is a hum of distant traffic. Mel, however, is somewhere in the past, reliving the moment a spark ignited.

“I crossed paths with the cello many times,’ she says. ‘But what finally got me was watching a BBC documentary on Jacqueline Du Pré (i) during school holidays in Year 12. Afterwards, all I could think about was I had to grab a cello and make that same sound.” Mel’s fingers flex and tighten as if she holds that same instrument. “I even got a ruler and put the notes onto it so I would be prepared and know what strings I was to play before I ever held a cello.”

Having pursued music at university, Mel is currently a cellist for the Casey Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO). “It’s an amateur orchestra. No-one’s being paid. They just turn up to make music and give the community classical music that’s affordable and local. A lot of them are music teachers and engineers and doctors who came down here looking for a ‘tree change’ (ii).” It’s apparent why the Orchestra was established. There isn’t a very strong artistic presence in the southeast suburbs and, as an inhabitant, I’ve often considered it a bit of a cultural wasteland, which is why discovering the CPO’s existence is rather exciting.

The CPO was incorporated in June 2017 and in October, they performed at the opening of Bunjil Place (iii), which has since become the orchestra’s principal performance venue.

Mel’s earliest music memories is tagging along to her mother’s weekly piano lessons. “I was maybe three and at some point, I’d memorised the pieces she was learning. When she played the wrong notes, I would sing the right ones to help her.”

Music is an important accomplishment in Mel’s family, even though the only one that was ever musical was her grandfather, who learnt to play the erhu (iv) by ear and later accompanied Chinese opera performances.

‘When I was six, my parents sent me for piano lessons, which was very expensive and we were very, very poor. But it was something that I was forced to do. When I was thirteen, I discovered classical music and symphonies, which motivated me to learn a second instrument.” In Year 11, Mel took up the clarinet and while the rest of her classmates were listening to R&B, Mel was secretly tuning into 3MBS (v).

The CPO’s first concert since the Pandemic was The Rochford Star Wars in February at the Rochford Winery. “It was a huge celebration,” Mel says with a wide smile, “and very last minute. We were all dressed up in costume, including the audience.” Mel is in her early thirties, petite, immaculately groomed in a form-fitting leopard print dress and conservative make-up. She moves gracefully, like a dancer. It’s hard to imagine her decked out as an Ewok or Storm Trooper while balancing a cello between her knees.

I ask how performers kept their artistic passions alight in the Pandemic’s bleak circumstances. “It’s all about supporting each other. Helping someone keep their passion alive also kept your own passions flaming.” I admit my artistic interests dimmed during Lockdowns, replaced by NetFlix and an unhealthy amount of couch-potato time. Mel laughs, “Oh, we did that too.”

Like me, Mel is the eldest child of immigrants. She was born to a Sri Lankan father and Chinese mother. She also has two younger brothers who, she tells me with a grimace, she was forced to give piano lessons. “They both hate piano to this day.” She shakes her head. “You can’t teach family.” I commiserate and share my dad’s short-lived stint as my driving instructor. There are wounds from ‘family-fire’ you just don’t recover from.

Mel’s 8-year-old son, Ben, edges to her and whispers in her ear. He wants to go to the toilet. He glances at my recording device and looks meaningfully at his mother. I ask if he would like me to turn it off while he uses the bathroom. He nods shyly. Mel watches as he scampers away and rolls her eyes at me. “What noises is he expecting to make in there?”

Her smile falters momentarily. Lockdown has been particularly hard on Ben. He is on the spectrum and confining him indoors had been challenging but it was then that his artistic interests increased. “We encouraged him to do life drawings and he was very good at it. He even started learning piano on his own using a piano app and he progressed quite well.”

When not immersed in music, Mel works as an audiologist with a speciality in adult rehabilitation. She is very aware of the relationship between music and the ability to hear. “We diagnose hearing losses and find technologies or strategies to help improve communication outcomes. Musicians communicate through music but generally patients just want to connect with their family and friends through hearing words. Both are important, both provide quality of life and sometimes essential quality of life.”

I confess that I wished my parents had appreciated music and art. They just didn’t see the cash-value of an airy-fairy pursuit in their hand-to-mouth reality of a mortgage, bills, and the never-ending expenses of children. Where would my path had led if I’d followed my joys rather than their fears?

“Art is seen as a lesser pursuit, but I never felt that way,” Mel says. “In fact, the urge to be musical was uncontrollable. Listen to that, that’s the fire in the belly. There are messages women can pass in very subtle and sneaky ways to society. Women composers are not

represented and same with women artists, so why not just see where it takes you?” She takes a sip of her green tea. “Rather than disappearing into motherhood, I found music enhanced me and gave me self-awareness, warmth, nurturing, things I didn’t think that I was capable of. Why not bring that to art and share that?”

The Casey Philharmonic Orchestra has three upcoming events: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Music (featuring the music of John Williams) in July performing at various south-eastern venues, a fifth anniversary Proms concert in October and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Fairy Tales & Fables in December, both at Bunjil Place, Narre Warren.

i Jacqueline Du Pré (26 January 1945-19 October 1987) was a British cellist who is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time. Multiple sclerosis cut her career short at the age of 28.

ii Tree Change is a phrase use to describe a move from the city/inner city to a more rural or country setting usually by those seeking a quieter life, a less demanding job or have kids.

iii Bunjil Place is an entertainment precinct situated next to Fountain Gate in Narre Warren. Its facilities include an outdoor community plaza, theatre, multipurpose studio, function centre, library, gallery and City of Casey’s Customer Service Centre in one location.

iv Chinese version of the cello.

v 3MBS was the first FM radio station in Victoria and began transmitting to Melbourne and surrounding areas in July 1975. It has since operated as a non-profit community-based organisation broadcasting classical and jazz music.

REFERENCES

https://3mbs.org.au/

https://www.bunjilplace.com.au/

https://cpo.org.au/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_du_Pr%C3%A9