When we talk about New Yorkers, the first impression that comes to me is extravagant, busy and proud like the four ladies in “Sex and the City”. When I heard the friendly voice of one of the most in-demand New York violinist, Kelly Hall-Tompkins, on Skype, all my anxiety about interviewing Ms. Hall-Tompkins disappeared. Though she is such a high profile musician, her affable tone and sincere answers reflected a care for others. In my eyes, she is far more than a first class violinist, but is someone who brings comfort and hope through music to the poor.

     Ms. Hall-Tompkins started to learn the violin at the age of nine. She has always been 1st violin in whatever orchestra she played in. Her favorite quote is “Follow your bliss, and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.” It is her intense passion to play the violin that helped her overcome many difficulties, and all of her achievements come from her love for music. Ms. Hall-Tompkins has won numerous awards, including the 2003 Naumburg International Violin Competition Honorarium Prize. She has been featured in the Manhattan Times, BBC music magazine, Chicago on WFMT’s Jewel Box Series live broadcast. Her playing has been touted as “inventive fantasia”, “beyond technique.” She has also released two CDs, collaborated with eminent conductors and composers including Siegfried Matthus, played in more than twelve international orchestras, and worked with five communities. She is a role model for African Americans, and she has inspired a rising interest in the violin among African Americans.

      What impresses and moves me most is the charity program that she established, “Music Kitchen------Food for the Soul,” for homeless people. When I asked her why she decided to create this program, she answered that she thought it’s not fair to let music be enjoyed only by the rich. The poor should also have the right to listen to concerts even though they don’t have money to buy tickets. Ms. Hall Tompkins founded “Music Kitchen” to perform live music in shelters and in churches for those homeless for free. She raises the money to pay other artists to perform for Music Kitchen. She has managed Music Kitchen for five years and played 38 performances. She loves expressing the human spirit and emotions through music and share with the audience what she feels in music. She can see from the audience’s expressions when they are moved by music, and from that, she can tell that music is exactly what they need. After her performances, her audience at Music Kitchen sends her cards that express how her music gives them consolation, hope, and spiritual happiness. Ms. Hall-Tompkins enjoys bringing joy to the homeless and helping them forget their worries temporarily. She said she wants these people to know that there are always people who care about them.

     There’s an old Chinese saying: When one gives a rose to someone, the fragrance lingers on the hand. One example is after her performance for a women’s shelter, the women embraced Ms. Hall-Tompkins and told her that they will always support her. The women moved her because they seemed have forgotten their own situation and expressed a maternal love and care for her. This motivated her to achieve even greater heights in violin performance as well as help more people. She told me she hopes this charity groups like Music Kitchen can spread nationwide to reach more people in the future.

     As the interview drew to an end, I asked her why she studied seven languages. She smiled and told me that she likes to be involved with local people and hates to ask “Do you speak English?” She not only enjoys communicating directly with different countries’ conductors and musicians in their languages, but she also likes to help people find their way when they’re lost. This reveals how Ms. Hall-Tompkins strives to interact and help people. I will never forget a sentence that she always tells youths: “If you are miserable, you can’t help others. If you follow your bliss and live your own life with passion, then you will be in a better position to serve your community."

贫民窟里的天使：Kelly Hall-Tompkins

每当我们谈起“纽约人”，我头脑中浮现的第一个印象就是奢华，繁忙，骄傲，就像是美剧“欲望都市”里那四个摩登女郎一样。但是当纽约最著名的小提琴家Kelly Hall-Tompkins女士与我通话的那一刻，霎那间我所有的担忧都消失了。尽管她是一个地位颇高的名人，但是她平易近人的语调和真诚的回答却反映出她对别人，尤其是对无家可归的人们最真挚的关怀。在我的眼中，她绝非只是一个世界一流的小提琴家，她更是一个通过音乐为穷人们带来安慰与希望的天使。 

从九岁开始学习小提琴起，这个因爱好音乐而学琴的非裔美国女孩就无论走到哪里都是乐队里的首席小提琴。她最喜欢一句名言叫“跟随你的爱好，宇宙就会在哪怕是只有围墙的地方为你开启大门。”，正是由于她对小提琴的热情才使她克服了学琴中的重重困难，取得了惊人的成就。在她众多获得的奖项中，最具代表性的就是在2003年“瑙姆堡国际小提琴比赛”中她获得了荣誉奖，向世人证明了她高超的演奏技巧。她曾被多家媒体专题报道过，包括“曼哈顿时报”，“BBC音乐杂志”，“芝加哥古典电台WFMT”现场直播等，这些媒体都热烈赞扬其为“创造的奇迹”“凌驾于技巧之上”。她还发行过两张个人CD,与包括Siegfried Matthus在内的著名作曲家及演奏家合作过，并在十二个国际交响乐团和五个社区活动项目中工作表演。她作为非裔美籍人的偶像，在二月份这个美国黑人历史月激起了更多黑人学习小提琴的热情。 

但她留给我印象最深，最让我感动的不是她作为著名小提琴家的光环，而是她为无家可归的人们创办“音乐坊------心灵的食物”这个慈善项目的博爱之情。在这个争名夺利的现代社会中，能够为慈善事业捐款已经很难得，更别提自己创办一个了。我问Kelly为什么会想到这样做，她回答说，让音乐只成为富人们的特权是非常不公平的。尽管穷人们没有钱买音乐会的门票，但他们仍应该有聆听音乐的权利。因此，她创办了“音乐坊”，在贫民区和教堂免费为穷人们表演现场音乐会。至于要付给其他同台演出的音乐家们的费用，则全是由Kelly一人筹集。没有政府及相关部门的帮助，我们不难想象完全靠个人的力量来创办项目，筹集资金，邀请音乐家，排练以及做许许多多琐碎的事情是多么艰难。但尽管在这样艰难的情况下，Kelly却已经坚持了五年，组织了三十八台演出。而令我更吃惊的是，当我问她是否觉得压力大时，她竟回答道她非常享受这样做。她说自己非常喜欢通过音乐来表达人类的各种精神和情感，因此也特别希望别人能从音乐中感悟她所能感受到的东西。当她从听众们的表情中看出他们被音乐而感动，感受到音乐就是他们所最需要的精神食粮时，她感到很满足。她还告诉我，在她表演结束后，有很多穷人给她寄来卡片，上面写着，是她的音乐给了他们安慰、希望和精神的愉悦。Kelly觉得能让这些为了每天的食物和居住地而奔波的人们有机会来享受生活，暂时地忘记烦恼，自己也非常快乐。她说: “我想让这些人们知道，在这世上还有其他人一直在关心着他们。”

 

中国有句古话叫“予人玫瑰，手有余香。”这种“余香”恐怕是世间最难得到的礼物了，但Kelly却经常能闻道这种芳香。其中一个例子就是，有一次，在Kelly给贫民区妇女的演奏结束后，那些妇女们紧紧地拥抱着她，对她说她们将永远支持她。Kelly一下子就被她们深深地感动了，因为这些妇女们好像都忘记了她们自己的处境，转而给予了她母亲般的关爱和关怀，转而来支持她。这种爱意使Kelly拥有了更大的动力向小提琴事业的更高点进军，也使她想去帮助更多的人们。她说，“我希望在不久的将来，这种演出可以遍布全国，普及到更多人。”

 

临近采访结束，我问了她一个特别有意思的问题，为什么她学习了七种语言。她开心地笑着说，“我喜欢与当地人民打成一片，讨厌去问别人‘请问您说英语吗？’”。原来她学不同的语言不仅仅是为了跟不同国家的指挥和音乐家们更好地交流，更是由于她喜欢帮迷路的人指路。她很自豪地告诉我，有很多回别人问她“请问你知道某某处怎么走吗？”，她就很高兴地帮他们领了路。这就是Kelly的个性，总是想参与到群众中去，总是这样乐于助人。我想我将永远不会忘记她对我，也是对所有年轻人说的一句话：“如果你本身很糟糕，你就无法去帮助别人。所以，做一个优秀的人，融入到群众中去帮助更多的人。”

 

这就是Kelly Hall-Tompkins，一个伟大的小提琴家和一个伟大的人道主义者。让我们永远记住她，一个微笑的天使，将挥舞的琴弓化为了翅膀，为我们带来了最好的音乐和最好的精神食粮。