HEE AH LEE

Heroes in our society are regarded with our utmost admiration. They are
those who persevere to achieve things against all odds and we praise
them for their selflessness, courage, high spirits, and perseverance.

Who could better represent these qualities than Hee Ah Lee, the Four
Fingered Pianist? Hee Ah Lee was born on July 9th, 1985, in Seoul, South
Korea, and he was born with severe disabilities, including only two fingers
on each hand, no legs below his kneecaps, and mild brain damage.

When she was seven, her mother started her on the piano to train her
hands, which at that time couldn`t even hold a pencil. "However, as time
went by, the piano became my source of inspiration and my best friend,"
she recalls.

Soon she diligently practiced piano for hours at a time trying really hard to
improve. For example, she worked on one passage from Chopin`s
Fantasia Impromptu for five years. She wanted to quit many times but
finally succeeded.

"The piano has provided me with many benefits which are consolation,
courage, gratitude, and compassion are just a few. It has also given me
the added opportunity to meet many friends worldwide," Hee told a
journalist once.

In 1992, she won the First Prize at the Korean National Student Music
Contest, and has since won many more contests and has also played in
many solo-concerts along with playing with many well-known artists. She
was even awarded by the then President of Korea, DaeJong Kim, for
Overcoming Physical Difficulty. She has also been recognized as one of
the best students in Seoul by the Korean Education Department.

“I hope people are inspired by the idea ‘Yes, I can do anything’ while
listening to me play.”

-Hee Ah Lee

“In my life, I have experienced many difficulties and have struggled hard
to overcome some of my obvious disabilities. I continue to struggle daily,
but I am comforted and feel deep consolation in being privileged with the
opportunity to express my appreciation for life by using the talents that
God has blessed me with and sharing them with you.”

-Hee Ah Lee

Hee Ah Lee is inspirational because she is highly diligent and patient. She
is an example of what can be done when one put one’s mind and heart to
it. From her we learn about patience, hard work and believing in one self.
When she was 19 years old and attended The Korean National College of
Rehabilitation and Welfare.

“Do not compare yourself to others. Try hard to become whatever you
want to be.”

-Hee Ah Lee

“My goal in life is to share my experiences with others, especially with

those who may be undergoing a difficult struggle in their life. I hope to
return what I’ve received from God to you. I love you all.”

-Hee Ah Lee

And now, in her effort to raising fund for The Check Out for Children
Programme, Hee Ah Lee has enchanted people at The Westin with her
very special performances in playing the piano and singing.

Moreover, Hee’s one of 24 woman pianist from South Korea, who was born
with some physical deformities such as only two fingers on each hand and
legs ended at her knees, played 10 piano compositions, in Nusa Dua Hall,
Bali International Convention Centre, Nusa Dua, Bali, last Thurday night.

The concert`s theme was "Dream the Impossible Dream" to inspire all
people with physical deformities like Hee, who can make such
monumental creation and moves like her. The "Dream the Impossible
Dream", also like the old song sang by Matt Monroe in the sixties, that
Hee sang at the end of the concert.

She was very shy at first in the presence of two thousand spectators. But
the situation immediately changed gradually as soon as she put all her
four fingers on her specially designed piano.

"It`s very inspiring and touching," says a foreign spectator, Ike

Christensen, from Denmark, who came with her husband and two kids.
She, like the others, enjoyed Hee`s performances from second to second
and likely didn`t believe that a woman with physical deformities like Hee
could played the piano so lovely.

Her mother, who also accompanied her on the special occasion on the
stage, said, that Hee was born with the Down Syndrome and some
physical deformities. "I was very surprised seeing my little baby like that.
The doctors at first thought that she will not survive because she was born
very very weak," said her.

Seeing the mother and daughter on the stage, merely like to hear and
experience the story of a mother and daughter who have overcome the
odds from the very beginning. Lee`s mother became unexpectedly
pregnant while married to a disabled man. Doctors told her that because
of a medication she had been taking, her child would not be normal.

She decided to continue with the pregnancy and in 1985 in Seoul, South
Korea, little Hee Ah Lee was born with only two fingers on each hand,
disfigurement of her legs, and a slight brain injury.

The hospital told Sun that she could not care for the child at home and
relatives wanted her to place the child for adoption in a foreign country.
Sun, the proud mother, thought her baby was beautiful, and was
determined that she would live a successful life.

When Lee was a pre-schooler her mother decided that she wanted her
daughter to take piano lessons.

It became a three-month contest of wills between mother and daughter

that led to a confrontation in which Sun actually threw her daughter on
the floor in frustration. She said Hee got back up on the piano bench and
for the first time played the children`s song she had been trying to learn.

That was the turning point, and one year later Lee won the grand prize in
a piano concert for kindergarteners. It was at age seven that Hee won
Korea`s 19th National Handicap Conquest Contest and was presented with
an award by the President of Korea at that time, Kim Dae-Jung.

Today Hee is 24, has won numerous awards, and is a widely traveled
concert pianist with more than 200 appearances. Her first album titled
"Hee-ah, a Pianist with Four Fingers" that had been released in June, two
years ago.

Hee gives tribute to her mother for challenging her to master the piano
and said that although her training was difficult, "As time went by, the
piano became my source of inspiration and my best friend."

In the progress, not like a normal baby, Hee was still weak and could not
walk normally. In Korea at that time, it was a very difficult condition for
the mother with a baby like Hee.

"She even couldn`t hold a pencil to neither draw nor write something.
After year and year, the piano, I hope could strengthen her grip in the
fingers and it worked. She survive and now in a world tour for a calling, to
share the love and happiness and inspiration to the world," said her
mother.

Her mother not just talks like a proud mother. Hee can prove it very to the
spectators. Hee, before this concert in the Westin, had played piano in the
White House. She has an idol, Richard Clayderman, who was very
successful in collaborating the entertainment and the meaning of playing
piano on stage.

"Fantasia impromptu", was a simple example of the achievement made by

Hee after many years having piano lessons with a special instructor. "I
was and still played the piano 10 hours a day. Every day because I know
God loves me with my four fingers," she said after the composition
successfully played.

People always laugh or at least, give a big and warm smile every time she
did that. "It`s so honest and sincere," said another spectator at her seat,
with a special gesture.

Hee not only could play the piano. The very touchy Indonesian song,
"Bunda" in Indonesian language, was also a part of her performance. Her
counterpart, Lee Chun Hee, played the grand piano whilst Hee sang the
song.

"Bunda", means means mother in high respect and love, represents the
love Sun always had as a little baby. And, the spectators could feel the
spirit transferred from a mother to her baby like Hee... "I am very toched
by the song...," a western woman who attended the concert said.

And the result was, the spontaneous applause filled the air for many
times. Although not everybody there could understand firmly the meaning
of "Bunda" sung by Hee in a not very fluent Indonesian language, but
everyone understand the message.
But it was not the end, because Hee also tell the people how her struggle
was to beat her physical deformities. It was "My Way" she sang very
clear.

"In my life, I have experienced many difficulties and have struggled hard
to overcome some of my obvious disabilities. I continued to struggle daily,
but I am comforted and felt a deep consolation in being privileged with
the opportunity to express my appreciation for life by using the talents
that God has blessed me with and sharing them with you," she said
behind the stage.

"The best present I could bring is love. Terima kasih," she said beside the
grand piano.