Text Story: Alfie Ong

As an aspiring classical solo pianist, Alfie Ong’s future is never set in stone. Currently, Alfie is touring Yale’s School of Music. Two days later, he will be a complementary pianist to his friend in a performance at Yale. Following the performance, Alfie will return across the country to the University of Oregon to pursue his double major in comparative literature and piano performance. Where, under the tutelage of Dr. Alex Dossin, he spends 3-8 hours every day honing his skills with the piano.

Alfie hasn’t always wanted to be a solo pianist. Alfie’s parents started him on the piano when he was two, but he eventually got tired of it entering middle school. However, in 7th grade, Alfie was watching TV when Lang Lang came on. Lang Lang, a world-renowned classical solo pianist, has inspired so many musicians that there is a saying in China called the Lang Lang effect. After watching Lang Lang, Alfie picked up the piano again and fell in love.

A grand piano is a necessity for an aspiring solo pianist. Unfortunately, in his junior year of high school, Alfie had no room for one in his packed Hong Kong Apartment. Thankfully, Ong’s tutor, Dr. Dossin, had a connection to a high school in North Carolina that had a grand piano. Alfie immediately jumped at this chance and traveled across the world to finish high school in North Carolina.

Lang Lang is famous for being open-minded, extroverted, and trying new things. Inspired by his idol, Alfie did the same in North Carolina. “I’m an extroverted person,” Alfie said, “I never thought (the move to America) as an obstacle to overcome but as a natural process of change.”

Alfie’s future is unpredictable. 90% of musicians fail, and Alfie knows this. However, Alfie isn’t stressed by the uncertainty of his future. “Alfie is always positive and a hard worker I know I can rely on him.” Said Max Jaimes, Alfie’s friend and coworker. Alfie’s future is daunting, but like his idol Lang Lang, performing and traveling to new places is something he loves, and he doesn’t plan to stop.

In Gateway, we are required to find subjects with an interesting passion/hobby/job, interview them, and share their stories. My instructors placed importance on matching our stories to the mediums (you wouldn’t want to do your photo package on a person with a desk job). Even though Alfie’s passion is based on piano and sound, his story can be conveyed through text