Pikake & Pearls: Helen & Randy’s Website

I had the idea a few weeks ago to write up a little narrative (in the form of a letter) about the way that Helen and I met. However, this plan is getting set into motion by a Kate Jensik, a new friend I made. Kate’s a cellist in the NBSO, where I also play, and she’s been giving me rides down to play in the orchestra.

Anyways, Kate is a friend of someone who works with Joshua Bell, and she suggested that I send my letter to her … and she’ll pass it along to her friend, who will pass it along to Mr. Bell.

Sounds like a pretty good plan, but I wonder what will come of it?

I guess, at the very least, Josh will get to know how he introduced me and Helen.

Here’s the letter:

Dear Mr. Bell,

I am writing to thank you for introducing me to the love of my life,
and hopefully future wife, Helen Liu. You don’t know either of us, but
it was by chance (or by destiny) that the three of us connected one
evening, ten years ago, at the Koussevitzky Shed on the Tanglewood
grounds, in 1997.

You had just performed with the BSO, and I was going to walk back to
the Boston University Tanglewood Institute campgrounds, when I saw a
line of admirers forming towards the green room to get your autograph.

Curious, I joined the queue. The line was fairly long, and even though
the second half of the concert was about to start, the people in front
of me didn’t leave. A conversation had started up between the girl in
front of me and myself, and little did I know that that conversation
would continue to this very day.

You took your time with each of the fans, taking pictures, signing
autographs, and answering questions. Helen and I were the very last in
line, and your manager came out frequently to tell you to hurry it up
because you had a party to go to at Serenak. I probably would have
left the line then, myself, but I knew that Helen really wanted a
picture with you. And even though I had just met her, just then, I
didn’t want to leave her standing in line by herself.

Helen and I were only a few spots from the front of the line, when
your handler demanded that you leave immediately — but you persisted,
and insisted that you take a picture with us, since we had waited so
long.

It is that picture that I am attaching here. It is not very often that
we have pictures from the very first time we meet our soulmates, let
alone with the person who introduced us, but thanks to you, we do.

I will be proposing to Helen this Friday, July 27, 2007 at Tanglewood,
the night you perform the Prokofiev Concerto … almost 10 years to
the day that we met. I picked this concert specifically because you
would be playing on it — for me, it’s like coming full-circle.

You couldn’t have known then what you had started, and I’m not even
sure what I am thanking you for. But, as a token of our appreciation,
I just thought you should know the story behind how Helen and I met,
since you played a major part in it.

-Randy Wong

P.S.: I am also attaching a more current picture of us. We are now
both professional musicians; she’s a violinist and just got her DMA
from Stonybrook (with Pam Frank & Phil Setzer), I graduated from NEC
and Harvard with degrees in double bass and arts education.