For vocal educator Liow Jun Yi, the proudest moments at Sunday's recital did not necessarily come from hitting the right notes. They came from watching his students take the stage, find their voices and perform together.
“I almost cried a few times,” he admitted after Celebrating Music, Mentorship & Friendship, an afternoon recital at the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre featuring students of Crescendo Music & Dance Studio.
The recital brought together Gwen Lee, Glenys Lam and Lucas Law, with Lau Jo Yee as collaborative pianist, in a programme spanning contemporary ballads, musical theatre and Chinese-language favourites.
For Jun Yi, however, the afternoon represented something more personal: years of teaching, encouraging and watching young singers grow into performers with identities of their own.
Gwen began studying with him at six, while Glenys started at five.
Asked what she valued most about her teacher, Gwen spoke not only about vocal training but about having a mentor who had accompanied her through much of her childhood and teenage years.
“He gives a lot of great advice,” she said, explaining that his guidance extended beyond vocal technique to different stages of her life, including college.
Glenys said one of the most important lessons she had learnt was not to imitate other singers.
“He lets me be myself,” she said. “He asked me to find my own voice instead of following someone else's voice.”
For Lucas, who began training at Crescendo in 2024 under Dr Yap Jin Hin before continuing with Jun Yi in 2025, his teacher's ability to instil confidence has been particularly meaningful.
“He really believes in all his students,” Lucas said. “Sometimes it's very hard to believe in yourself, but he will give you that push that you need. He will really encourage you to push and go on.”
The 23-year-old Selangor-born Lucas has already accumulated considerable stage experience, performing at the Unveiling Uniqueness concerts in 2024 and 2025 and taking on a leading role in the local musical production Life Is 2.0 in January this year.
At Sunday's recital, he performed four solo numbers, including The Greatest Love of All, I'm Not the Only One and No Matter What, before joining Glenys for the duet A Whole New World.
Gwen performed Beauty and the Beast with Jun Yi.
The afternoon also carried a sense of homecoming through former Crescendo student Amos, who recently returned from the United Kingdom and had the opportunity to perform with his teacher in Malaysia again after about a decade. “It was an unforgettable experience,” he said.
Jun Yi now hopes the recital will not be the end of the students' journey.
“I will keep pushing them, calling them, encouraging them,” he said. “We'll try to make sure they are not giving up their singing.”
And his advice to aspiring performers was equally simple. “If you love to sing or you love to play music, just continue. Don't ask — just do it.”
In short, Jun Yi said the concert celebrated not only musical excellence but also the meaningful relationships built through years of mentorship and learning.
"Music is about more than performance. It is about nurturing confidence, resilience and the joy of sharing one's gifts with others. Watching these young performers grow has been one of the most rewarding parts of teaching," he said.
