Prince George Free Press

by Frank Peebles

Conductor touched our town

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. -- In the early evening of January 18 (Eastern Standard Time), the lights went out on the young Wallace Leung Legacy. At 34 years of age, he was not yet an icon of the Canadian music industry but was definitely a rising star. When he fell gravely ill over the holiday season, the calls and prayers oscillated from coast to coast and across international borders. Wallace Leung was already a highly respected and appreciated music director. The Prince George Symphony Orchestra felt lucky to have him as their own. His passing leaves a gaping hole of grief and uncertainty for them.

It was one year ago to the day that Wallace stepped onto Prince George soil for the first time, to audition for the vacant position at the helm of the PGSO. The eerieness of the anniversary gives Jo-Ann Merkel a moment of difficulty swallowing. She didn't say so, but that was the day everybody in the PGSO family knew they had found their quarterback. We was instantly magnetic. The audition process was a mere formality that only reinforced first impressions: this was a special man. This was someone who could turn the fortunes of the PGSO around.

"Musically he was the personality we required. He had a great feeling for community, he wanted to expand the horizons of the symphony and take it to other parts of the region. His idea of success was when the musicians were happy with what they were playing and working as a team. That is what he wanted for this orchestra," says Jo-Ann, general manger of the PGSO. But she reiterates that his musical skills were only half of it.

"It's hard for me to say these things right now, I have feelings for him just as a person," says Jo-Ann. "He was truly interested in people and what they thought and felt. He was not an egotistical man at all. He was generous, fun, enthusiastic, charming and a wonderful friend. I would have been happy to have him as my son, he was that type of guy."

The funeral for Wallace will be held this Saturday in his home town of Richmond (9:30 a.m., 8420 Cambie Road). The church, adding to the spooky connection he had to the people here, is exactly two blocks down the street from Jo-Ann's childhood home. She and a Prince George contingent will be there, and a memorial service for Prince George will be discussed at that time.

Local director/choreographer Judy Russell also had immediate links that challenge coincidence. "Wallace and I connected on so many levels, partly because we were both brought up in the same place. We had the same band teacher. Our first meeting was like old home week and everyone else in the room disappeared. He kept popping up in my life, like my best friends in Vancouver were working with him," she says. "There was all this wonderful karma. The first time he came to see us perform he gave me so much confidence that we could all work together, there would be respect, things were going to be done...It was really inspiring for me. It is a huge loss not only for his family but for our entire community. Now we have to be concerned that we don't lose the momentum he started just because he won't be around with us."

A measure of his impressive personal effect can be found on the PGSO's web site (www.pgso.com). They have begun posting the many letters and messages that have come in for him. It has become a tribute page, with personal messages like this one sent in by Edwin and Christina Hopkins of Delta. They remember Wallace from his years with the Delta Youth Orchestra and with the Delta Community Music School. They admired his violin playing and the care he took with the students, especially their son David who did not directly work under Wallace "yet he knew David by name and David knew Wallace enough to admire him. David, when he was 10 years old, asked Wallace to listen to a violin piece he had made up on his own. Wallace took the time to give David's piece a good listen and shared his responses to the piece with David. Our son will likely always remember those few moments when the 'Great Man' took interest in his own music.

It was that greatness that may have played a part in his death. The viral encephalitis that afflicted him and, in a matter of weeks, took his life may have been aggravated by the fact that Wallace worked incessantly hard. Perhaps too hard. In addition to his primary job with the PGSO he was also working with the Canada West Chamber Orchestra, Richmond Gateway Theatre, contemporary music Helikon, plus other musical endeavours. His wide interests and involvements were his strongest personality traits. But did it wear him out to the point of illness?

We will never know for sure but his example, even in his last days, is a standard for us all. Work hard, be passionate about your career, make your life something worth sharing enthusiastically with others..and slow down to listen to the beautiful music. Live. Music.