Violinist wowing crowds

Chch's Yoomia Sim to play at Opera House

Yoomia Sim is a modern violinist and music teacher with a difference and I don't just mean the "Angelina Jolie leg" photo shoot.

But it's a little simplistic to compare her to the likes of Vanessa Mae just because they both play electric violin.

"We are the same in that we are two Asian chicks who play the violin," Sim laughs.

"Yes, I am a classically trained violinist with an electric violin, but I am not playing crossover classical. My passion is in improvisation, electronica, tango, Latin, gypsy and funk.

"I am not like anybody else."

Born in Korea, Sim has lived in Christchurch since she was 11.

She has been teaching violin, piano and music theory for more than 12 years. Her aim is to inspire her students "aged from 6 to 55", and to pass on a passion for music.

When we speak, Sim has recently returned from a support slot on stage with Michael Bolton at the Sydney Opera House.

She had been dared, she giggles, by musical accomplice Christchurch-based Latin guitarist who performs as Dr Sanchez, to drop in a line from Bolton's turn as Jack Sparrow from the song of the same name by American comedy group The Lonely Islands.

"He dared me to say that line 'this whole town is a pussy waiting to be f...ed' from the song he did, but when Michael Bolton put his hand out to shake my hand I was too shy."

Her charismatic violin playing has led her to performing in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Toronto, Montreal and across Europe with performances in Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Turkey.

In the midst of her travels to 30 countries she cycled from Britain to Prague, helped to build an animal sanctuary in the Amazons. ("It was a little scary, I had a hammer, I was helping to build a sanctuary for the pumas and monkeys, lots of spiders and crawling things"), volunteered at orphanages in Peru and became a divemaster in Colombia.

She performed across South America, playing everywhere from Buenos Aires to Lima, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janiero.

After five years of travelling, she returned home in 2008 with her Ted Brewer clear violin as a modern violinist.

"It was around that time that, after a lot of soul searching, I knew I had to follow my instincts."

Since then she has performed at outdoor electric music festivals such as Spring Equinox and Mystic Forest, relying on her improvisation skills.

On February 20, 2011, Sim performed in the Christ Church Cathedral as part of the Festival of Flowers, it was to be the last live performance in the Cathedral.

At the time she was working for fashion designer Trelise Cooper and had her own music studio in the Music Centre where she was recording an EP and where she would teach her students.

Like many other Cantabrians, the earthquake on February 22, 2011 changed Sim's approach to life.

"After the quake, I knew more than ever that I wanted to make music my whole life and to put all of my heart into it," Sim says.

"I left my job working for Trelise, but she now sponsors me so I get to wear the clothes and I hope to do some performances at fashion shows.

"My violin was trapped in my music studio, in the Music Centre next to the Basilica - it was red- stickered. I was so fortunate, a Singapore soldier risked his life to go inside the building with me three days after the quake to get it. I met him at the cordon and I told him my precious possession was there. We went in with walls coming down, we climbed three staircases filled with rubble.

"When we got to the door of my studio the door was jammed, but he knew martial arts and kicked it open. I rescued my violin. I will never forget that someone did this for me, that they understood how precious it was."

Sim began to learn to play piano at the age of 6 and "accidentally" fell in love with the violin at 9 when, in lieu of a babysitter, she was put into her younger sister's violin class and her teacher discovered, Sim says, that she had perfect pitch. At the age of 16 she was admitted into the music college at University of Canterbury on performance violin, emerging at 20 with a bachelor in music. Later she combined continuing her music studies in Italy and Spain with her love of travel.

She has received numerous music scholarships and appeared as a soloist for Canterbury Philharmonia and the New Zealand Secondary Schools orchestra.

Her love of music came from her parents, she says. Her dad was a self-taught guitarist and lead singer in a rock band, her mother a lover of classical music.

A connection with an Australian-based contact has led to memorable performances this year.

"I played for Il Divo at the Sydney Myer Ball in Melbourne, I was the first violinist for Olivia Newton-John and in Auckland I played for Will Martin."

She is touring across New Zealand and Australia and her name is one you are sure to see in the future - whether it's performing with Dr Sanchez at the local Almeidas Tapas Bar on a Monday night every now and then or energetically leaping around the spotlight of the Sydney Opera House.

On Wednesday night she played alongside Dr Sanchez, supporting Mara TK of Electric Wire Hustle in his solo show.

"Mara is a cool ginger Maori, very funky, I love funk and Latin styles, they really get me right here," she say, emphatically placing her hand on her heart.

Her violin has, she says, always been a way of escaping everyday realities. With precise movements she places her hands on the table in front of us to demonstrate how she practises each day - half the time spent on the classics, the other half "free".

"The classical training is good for discipline. The other side of me is in the improvisation where I am just me, I am finally free."

Yoomia has been chosen to support Florence and the Machine at the Sydney Opera House on May 25-26. It's not an ordinary concert by Flo-Mo; she will be accompanied by the Ceremonials Orchestra consisting of over 40 performers.

- © Fairfax NZ News