Zoe Tay asked to play piano for charity

She is neither musically inclined nor able to play the piano.

But Mediacorp "Ah Jie" ("big sister" colloquially) Zoe Tay will be performing three classical pieces on a piano come Jan 24.

The performance is part of the Lions Charity Show 2016 to be held in The Theatre @ Mediacorp.

Speaking to The New Paper at a media conference yesterday, Tay, 47, said: "The piano is such a beautiful musical instrument.

"When I was asked to play it, I thought about it as I know it's an instrument that requires some time to master.

"But I took it on as it's something I have not done before and I should overcome the challenge.

"Perhaps I will get my son to help me with the musical notes as he knows how to play the piano."

The live show, which will air on Channel 8 at 7pm, aims to raise funds for the Lions Befrienders (LB) and the Lions Home for the Elders (LHE) in support of disadvantaged seniors.

The fund-raising target for the charity show is $3.7 million.

Besides local artists, overseas celebrities such as 80s Taiwanese songstress Anna Lin, Taiwanese jazz pop singer-songwriter Yen-J, Hong Kong veteran singer Susanna Kwan, among others, will be performing as well.

Tay will perform her set together with local celebs Kym Ng, Pan Lingling and Rebecca Lim on a piano specially flown in from Taiwan.

MORE CHARITY STUFF

For the Queen of Caldecott Hill, choosing to take on more charity-related programmes is something she wants to do this year.

The busy mother of three now takes on only one drama per year so that she can have time for her family.

"I want to do more charity stuff," she said.

"I am also interested in food and travel programmes, but I'll only take those on if they are unique, not like the usual shows we see on TV nowadays."

Despite her standing as an "Ah Jie" and one of Singapore's most recognised celebrities, Tay has to deal with parental chores like any mother when she is around her three sons - Nathan, five; Ashton, eight; and Brayden, 10.

Last Monday was a particularly hectic day for Tay, who had to send two of her three sons back to school after the December holidays. She woke up at 5am to prepare breakfast, before dropping them off at school.

"In the past, I would prepare their school stuff two weeks in advance," she said.

"But this time round, I only prepared them three days in advance as we had just come back from a vacation and did not have enough time."

However, Tay describes her kids as independent, saying that they would pack their schoolbags on their own.

She said: "In fact, they looked quite excited to be going back to school."

She added: "I think I will probably feel more stressed out when my youngest son has to go to Primary One in the future."

This article was first published on January 7, 2016.
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