Chantel Yiu, a grade 9 student at CAIS enters herself in a TV singing contest. Her voice has been praised by many judges on different levels. We had a chance to talk to her about her passion for music. Here is her story…

What made you interested in music and singing?

Music helps me, and I guess many others, to express their feelings, whether you are happy or sad and is also very soothing and relaxing when you are stressed. It is also one of the things that my friends and I share, sharing good songs and performances that are released. Music is also a universal language as in whatever language the lyrics is in, we can still enjoy it. I think when you appreciate music, you will also start to enjoy singing, as you will inevitably sing along with the pieces you like.

Biggest lesson learnt from the singing competition that is not offered in school?

There are in fact a lot of similarities, in both situations, you always have to work hard, do your best, respect and appreciate others’ efforts, manage your time well and a lot of teamwork is in play. At school, apart from teachers and staff, you are still mostly surrounded by people of your same age but during the competition, everyone you work with are adults. At school, there may still be certain leniency if you slip behind, but in this competition, there is only one chance and you have to practice hard and really prepare well in advance. The competition gives me an early insight of what it is like being in a working environment. I would say the school prepares you for the society and the more you absorb and equip with what you learnt from school, the more confident and prepared you are when you step into the society facing the challenges ahead of you.

Most memorable experience in CAIS?

I have to say is the many many good friends and teachers that I met and know in school. I have good times and bad times but I always have someone from school that gives me encouragement, constructive feedback and support. Despite the ups and downs, the days at school is always going to be in my heart and I treasure every single moment of it!

You can find more information on Chantel in the following media reports:

每次錄影父母都跟到實 姚焯菲簽約TVB堅持學業為先 | Headlife | 頭條日報 (stheadline.com)
聲夢傳奇︱14歲姚焯菲超多粉絲　《戀愛預告》YT點擊極速破200萬｜香港01｜即時娛樂 (hk01.com)