Music became important to Jessica Yap so early in her life that she doesn't even remember when the love blossomed.

"But Mom tells me I heard the sound of the violin and wanted to play it," she says.

It couldn't have been very long after, though, that she started to play the instrument - at three and a half years old. She tells The Sunday Gleaner that she also played the piano for a while and "can play it a bit but not to any high standard".

On the other hand, the standards she set for herself with the violin have been very high indeed. Which is why, at only seven years old, she became both the youngest Jamaican to perform with an orchestra and the youngest in the Caribbean to get a Distinction in the Grade Five theory Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) exam.

And the 'firsts' have continued to flow.

At 13, Yap earned the diploma ABRSM, and earlier this year, at 16, she achieved the Licentiate of The Royal Schools of Music (LRSM). She is the region's youngest violinist to get either award, and the youngest violinist in the hemisphere to complete all the ABRSM grades. She mostly got distinctions.

The diploma and licentiate were for performance, which is what Yap passionately loves to do, not practice. She confesses, "I'm supposed to practise every day but I miss some days and I may practise for about half-an-hour to one hour, tops. I don't really enjoy practising. I much prefer performing."

performances

A practical young woman, she adds, "However, in order to perform well, practice is needed."

Fortunately for Yap, over the years opportunities to perform have been numerous, so there's no chance of "rust" setting in. She is a three-time recipient of the award for Most Outstanding Junior Performer in the Music Teacher's Biennial Festival, and has performed at the Jazz and Blues Festival, Shaggy's Save a Life fund-raising show, Jazz in the Gardens, Fun in the Son, Take Me Away, Government functions for visiting royalty and leaders from various countries, the Chinese New Year's festival in Miami and concerts in Washington D.C. She has soloed with the New England Chamber Ensemble on a number of occasions and performed with chamber ensembles in Florida.

Asked to name her most memorable performance, Yap replied, "All of them have been memorable."

They have been memorable for audiences, too. No one who has seen her perform over the last three or four years could forget the slim, bright-eyed girl with flowing black hair dancing around the room or stage as she played beautiful music on her violin. Her repertoire is wide and encompasses pop, folk, gospel, reggae and even dancehall, but most of the time she plays classical music. It's her favourite genre.

"I find it more satisfying in terms of required technique and musical intellect," she explains.

Of dancehall, she comments, "I feel that it is really the pulsating rhythm of dancehall that people like. Because of this, the writers should be more responsible and aware of the lyrical content on the rhythms. The influence of it on the society is bad. Even though people may not realise it, those rhythms encourage aggression."

social work

Interestingly, her thoughts about the words of dancehall songs differ from many detractors. She opines, "The lyrics may not be as influential, but they too contribute to dancehall's influence on the public."

As a student at Campion College, Yap also shines, and not only in academics where her grades have been "mostly As and Bs, with one or two Cs". This year she copped the Principal's Award, the True Campionite award and was the top performer in her graduating class.

Contributing to her receiving the Principal's Award was her involvement in the school's Ministry Outreach Programme (MOP), Homework Study Programme and being on the tennis team.

"MOP is a group in the school which is led by the head of sixth form," Yap told The Sunday Gleaner. "When I joined, it was comprised of only sixth formers. We visited the Golden Age Home weekly and held treats for them during holidays.

"The Homework Study Programme is run by a group of fifth and sixth formers who mentor and help students from select schools with their homework and in other areas of their education."

There is even more to Yap's social work. She also, she says, "visits various children's homes and collects things for a little school out at Ferry". At Christmas, she hosts treats for various children's homes where she also performs for the children.

Yap's favourite subjects are mathematics, physics and biology, and if she goes to sixth form, she will "definitely do biology and chemistry, and possibly math or physics".

These are odd choices for a musician, one might think, but Yap intends to become a doctor.

"I'm not exactly sure what kind," she says, adding - no surprise here - "but that would definitely be in addition to doing music."

All eyes are on violinist Jessica Yap as she performs during Diplomatic Week's cultural evening at the Courtleigh Auditorium on January 27, 2008. - file