Take TWO

I was a member of String Angels before embarking on a new chapter in my career.

I have been given my own show on cruise ships, complete with backing band. The reason I'm doing this is so that I can take my family with me wherever I need to travel.

Being headliner on cruises gives you those kinds of perks. I've taken the kids out of school to do distance education so that they can join me in my travels. They can even play in some of the shows.

It is great for children to have the opportunity to play when they are very young.

I dedicated a song to a special lady in the audience at my bon voyage show. Her name is Rita Creagan. She began to teach me the violin at the age of three.

She is still a passionate violinist and she is also passionate about horses.

We both share these two passions of violins and horses. Anyone who knows me knows I am absolutely mad about both.

That actually led me to put together something I call Romance of the Horse. That is a show I put together which is a collaboration between myself and Keith Harris, a world famous horse trainer.

That one was for Rita.

One of the things she taught me is your bow is just as important as your violin. And my bow is worth more than my violin.

RITA CREAGAN, violin teacher

Sarah was three years old when she started with me. I taught her for four years from about 1984.

I started teaching at Corrimal in the middle of 1980. I remember her coming as a three year old and it was about mid-year when she started.

After I taught her for four years, I asked Mr Yasuki Nakamura in Belrose, which was a long way away, to teach her. I was in Sydney with Sarah at a Suzuki function and I said to Sarah's mother how about I ask Mr Nakamura to take Sarah. She said no, let her stay with you.

So we asked him and he said it is a long way to travel from Bellambi, where I was then.

She toured with the Suzuki concert party about three times overseas. She got a standing ovation in Germany and Seattle.

I remember when she was 14 she won a championship at Nowra Eisteddfod and then called in to see me at Dunmore on the way home and showed me the trophy.

When she was 14 she also went to Japan for a year. I have followed her career ever since.

She came down and saw me about three weeks before she went overseas this time. And she brought her children with her and they played for me at home.

Now I want to go on a cruise and see her play.

I am well into my 80s and I am still playing violin with the South Coast Orchestra.

I had another friend with me at her farewell concert at Centro CBD who I played with in the Wollongong Symphony Orchestra for 30 years and then we joined the Shoalhaven Chamber Orchestra under Paul Pritchard for five years.

Then we came to Wollongong Conservatorium of Music in 2004 with Paul and we have been going ever since.