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I love this story
Jan. 29th, 2006 10:25 amI just saw an televsion interview with ten year old Tyler Thompson of Oakland, California, his mother and his teacher.
It started when Tyler's mother decided to send him to the best public school available, one located in Oakland's Chinatown. Tyler, who loves music, decided to join the school's orchestra and soon became their star performer, singing traditional Chinese opera with, it is said, a perfect accent.
The incongruity of a young, black American singing Chinese opera has brought him worldwide attention. He has been on the front page of the Wall Street Journal and has appeared on CNN and CBS. Last year he performed in a Chinese New Year's TV program that was broadcast to two billion people on mainland China.
Wisely, Tyler's teacher is taking advantage of the attention to promote the music she loves and has brought her school's orchestra to perform at a black church in Oakland. Interviewed at the church, she says, "We have to move out of Chinatown. When we come here, we are promoting our culture. If we just stay in Chinatown, we are only preserving it."
Tyler's proud mother said, "I honestly didn't think it was such a big deal," but Tyler himself is planning to go to China and says, "Just wait 'till I get there!"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/01/DDGM8BH8451.DTL
http://www.oaklandnet.com/parks/news/021005b.asp
It started when Tyler's mother decided to send him to the best public school available, one located in Oakland's Chinatown. Tyler, who loves music, decided to join the school's orchestra and soon became their star performer, singing traditional Chinese opera with, it is said, a perfect accent.
The incongruity of a young, black American singing Chinese opera has brought him worldwide attention. He has been on the front page of the Wall Street Journal and has appeared on CNN and CBS. Last year he performed in a Chinese New Year's TV program that was broadcast to two billion people on mainland China.
Wisely, Tyler's teacher is taking advantage of the attention to promote the music she loves and has brought her school's orchestra to perform at a black church in Oakland. Interviewed at the church, she says, "We have to move out of Chinatown. When we come here, we are promoting our culture. If we just stay in Chinatown, we are only preserving it."
Tyler's proud mother said, "I honestly didn't think it was such a big deal," but Tyler himself is planning to go to China and says, "Just wait 'till I get there!"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/01/DDGM8BH8451.DTL
http://www.oaklandnet.com/parks/news/021005b.asp
