Hey Everyone! First off I’d like to apologize for not having an update in such a long time.  I’ve been pretty busy lately with concerts and travel.  It’s been a month since I’ve left my apartment – just been on the road all this time and let me tell you, I NEED to do laundry!!

Ok most of you are probably slightly disgusted but let me reassure you that I did laundry like… 2 weeks ago, and managed to do it again just yesterday, but still… I guess I could have done it a lot sooner but honestly I don’t feel comfortable giving my underwear to the hotel staff.  I don’t know how Yo-Yo Ma or Lang Lang manage (I was recently advised by a fellow musician that “you only had to turn your underwear inside out for it to be brand-new again” umm.. no thanks) but I bet they have their little helpers who travel with them handle it.

If you haven't been subjected to my rants about wanting a personal assistant, then allow me to do so here. I WANT A PERSONAL ASSISTANT!  It would be super cool to have someone get your coffee everyday (even though I don't drink coffee), oh and take care of your laundry (that would be perfectly fine, I just don't want random people handling my underwear..) while making/taking calls for you "Good morning, this is _____ calling on behalf of Ray Chen..." "Oh I'm sorry, Mr Chen is not available to take your call at the moment, would you like to leave a message?" (when clearly all I'm doing in playing Xbox...)

Ah yes... just like Tony Stark said in Ironman 2... "I want one".

It's important to set goals for yourself so I'm going to set a new one here: within 3 years time, I will "busify" myself so much that I will be able to justify the hiring of a personal assistant for myself. Yes, goal number #3241.

I know this was not my usual postcard from some exotic location somewhere but I promise I will write about something with more substance in my next update. Unless you like reading these types of posts - then I will continue to post these alongside my postcard updates. Just leave a comment!

Hello all again! This past week has been a real blast for me – I’ve been in the city of Seoul with good food and awesome people! I played Beethoven Violin Concerto at the Seoul Art’s Center which is a magnificent hall with a capacity for 2600 audience members and yet still sounds amazing acoustically. I’m usually less eager to play in gigantic halls (any hall that has a capacity of over 2400), and for me big halls send a little bit of fear down my spine for the following reasons:

1. Fear of not being heard - are those people sitting in the third tier last row really going to be able to enjoy the music? Should I switch my Stradivarius to a Stratocaster?
2. Fear of empty seats – Luckily this has been a fear that has only existed backstage and before the concert for me… I’ve been blessed to have had full audiences so far… (knock on wood)
3. Fear of screwing up – I mean this exists subconsciously all the time, but when the halls are bigger they come with way more media attention like radio stations, TV crews, and simply more people…
4. Fear of psychological attack from previous three fears. (For example: “Hey Ray, you haven’t screwed up… YET…! Ooh, is it gonna happen now? Oh what about now??”)

Ok – so I think I’m kind of sounding like a little girl now. Perhaps I should attack the central nervous system (haha) of this beast that lurks in the shadows. I’ll think about it and address it the next time I play in a gigantic hall worthy of mention.

In the meantime I’d like to thank all my fans in Korea – you are THE BEST and I can’t wait to come back and see you all again!

Sa-rang-he!

Hey everyone! First please let me thank you for your feedback, it’s been really great to know that there are people out there who read this other than my mother (not that I don’t love you mum haha)

I was in Russia for almost a week performing at the first Rostropovich Music Festival held in Moscow. In spite of the tragic events that happened (bombing of the Metro) the previous day of my concert, the hall was still packed and I extend my deepest sympathies to those who lost friends and loved ones that day.

Dimitry Yurovsky was the conductor (replacing Maxim Vengerov on only a week’s notice) and conducted magnificently. Rarely have I ever been mesmerized by a conductor, oftentimes they can be there simply for show and more trouble than they’re worth however Yurovsky proved to be something completely different and I am so glad to have experienced being captivated by his extremely natural movements whose only purpose was to serve the music and nothing else.

I was very lucky to be able to stay a few extra days after the concert thanks to Olga Rostropovich’s generosity (daughter of the great Rostropovich and the engine which keeps the festival running) so I had a chance to see parts of the Red Square (check back next week for photos) and visit the Kremlin!

Before I leave you for now, one very important piece of advice to all string instrumentalists travelling to Russia with their instruments, please, please, PLEASE remember to bring the following items: A certificate of your instrument stating that you bought it elsewhere (they try to convince you that your instrument was smuggled out of Russia during one of their revolutions and therefore belongs to the State – yeah right), 4’6’ color photos of the front and back of your instrument (including bows – tip and frog),  and last but not least it doesn’t hurt to bring an official letter of invitation from the Russian Minister of Culture. Upon entry be prepared to declare your instrument, and be prepared to wait for the official who is probably anywhere from 10 minutes to a few hours distance from where you are, have them stamp the backs of ALL of your photos, and remember never to lose them.  Happy travelling guys and I’ll be back next week with more from Seoul!