| Speech for the 12th New Pioneers Awards |
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By An-Lun Huang Markham, Ontario Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I have a story to share with you. On Christmas Eve, year 2000, my wife and I went to a major department store for some last-minute Christmas shopping. As we went up the escalator, I found the man behind me looked very familiar. So I stopped and asked him politely: “Hi! Aren’t you our Old Mayor, and the Defence Minister Mr. Eggleton”? The gentleman answered with a smile: “Right, It’s me”. My wife and I were thrilled and shook hands with him. I said: “Sir, how come you came here so late? Stores will close in few moments….”, “I would be in big trouble with my wife if I went home empty handed on Christmas eve!”, he said and with a “Merry Christmas!”, Mr. Eggleton disappeared into the crowd just like any ordinary man. Such an incident might be a common one in Canada, but it would be impossible in the country of my birth. I would never be able to shake hands with a Chinese Defence Minister just like an ordinary man in a shopping mall. I remembered at that time I said to my wife: “It’s so fortunate that we can live in Canada”! I also remember the first few days when I had just arrived in Toronto. I was a little scared of the Canadian police. My friend, John Fraser said: “Hey, An-lun, the policeman here is serving you. You’re a man, same as everybody here. Listen, in this country, everyone is equal”. Thank you, Canada! Now I can live just like a man equal with everybody here. Yes, I had great difficulties starting my life in Canada in the early days. But love and help came from everywhere. Thank you, Canada! Now I can express the truth freely. No one would sit on my head to control my mind forever. Thank you, Canada! The unique ‘multi-cultural-policy’ gives me a great opportunity to develop my music. Twice, the Canada Council and the Foreign Affairs ministry have supported my symphonic concerts. Yes, my music is Chinese, but it’s also Canadian! This is Canada: everyone here is valuable, every culture here is respected. Thank you, Canada! for giving me the opportunity to receive this valuable ‘New Pioneers Award’ tonight. With the spirit of equality surrounding me, I will keep working hard to extend our Canadian values to more and more people in the world. Finally, I wish to thank Skills for Change for staging this Awards program that focuses attention on us, immigrants. Thank you, everybody! Background InformationThis was An-lun Huang’s speech for the 12th NEW PIONEERS AWARDS by the “Skills for Change, Canada” on March 25, 2004 The winner of the Canadian New Pioneer Award of 2004, Huang, An-lun [1949 --], Chinese-Canadian composer, began his piano lessons at the age of 5, and completed his 1st piano album at 7. He has been appointed as the composer-in-residence of the Central Opera House of Beijing, and became a member of the China Musicians Association in 1976. He received the Fellowship in Composition, Trinity College of Music, London, in 1983, then completed his Master Degree of Music of Yale with the Alumni Association‘s prize in 1986. As the president of the Chinese Canadian Music Society of Ontario, Huang devotes himself to promote Chinese Musicians to the multi-cultural-life of Canada since he moved to Toronto in the eighties. His music includes more than 20 symphonic works, 11 operatic productions, 3 ballets, 4 large oratorios and numbers of choral, chamber, film music, etc. With numerous awards, Huang‘s compositions have been widely performed by many of the major Symphony Orchestras, and warmly received around the world. He Become the member of the Canadian League of Composer by invitation. |
