Brand New Buzz

I’m a twenty one year old college cellist and am trying to find an upgrade to my current instrument. I’m still playing my 7/8 size cello that I had in high school. It’s an extremely good quality instrument, though I’m definitely ready for a full size, well and I have been for quite some time. I’ve been waiting to make the transition because I wanted to be in at a skill level where I could start to look at professional cellos. I live outside of Hong Kong and can easily travel to the city, though I’ve also been looking at online sellers. Of course my cello instructor at school will have a say on my final decision, and is offering me directional advice.

I have been to Hong Kong Strings in the city, and actually I kind of consider it to be something of a comfort shop. That might sound weird, but as a child my grandmother took me their and I was so astounded by all of the instruments, I knew then that I had to play. My uncle had been a violinist and even played for a time with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. As a young child he loaned me his violin to try and I enjoyed it so much my grandmother was inspired to buy me my first instrument. That’s when we went to Hong Kong Strings.

While we were there, however, I was so taken by the cellos, a very good cellist happened to be in shop that day trying them out. I honestly couldn’t believe the depth of the sound they made and knew I was destined for the cello over the violin. I didn’t want to hurt my uncle, and I didn’t want my grandmother to think that I was being fickle, so I simply said that I thought we needed more time since it was such a big purchase. Then, over the next several weeks I managed to get my family to say that I seemed to be much more suited to the cello. I don’t remember how I did this, though I do remember positioning the violin like a cello. I thought it would look ridiculous and make me seem foolish, though maybe that did the trick. We returned to the string shop many times and eventually my grandmother suggested we try the cellos. Once I sat down with one there was no turning back, and my grandmother ended up buying me my first half size cello. This happened over a special weekend stay. We made an event out of it and stayed in one of the Hong Kong luxury hotels and had breakfast in a fancy bistro. I can’t help but think of that weekend while I consider buying my next instrument.

Related posts:

1. The Hong Kong Experience
2. Grasslands of Hong Kong
3. Grandfather Sees Casals Play Cello in Barcelona
4. The Pang Brothers’ Bangkok