I still remember the first time I saw Tristan Poon. I was in grade seven, and our classes had been called down for a special assembly. Woburn had come for a musical visit to Churchill Heights, only one of several stops during the Feeder School Tour. At the time, I wasn’t skilled enough as a musician to be able to pick out individual voices, so I couldn’t hear his voice separately from the rest of the tenors, but I had taken note of him. He stood out among the others. However, unbeknownst to me, he was full of talent, musical and leadership experience, and we’d eventually meet.
Fast forward to my first Woburn concert choir practice. I remember feeling awkward and shy, not knowing where to sit, and being deathly afraid of being yelled at for forgetting to bring a pencil. And to add to my confusion, someone behind me was kicking my chair. I turned and saw Tristan, but didn’t remember him from that assembly. It would be a few weeks after we’d become friends before I’d remember how I’d seen him. But we’d started talking right after that rehearsal, and I can safely say that I had a bit of a spring in my step as I walked to the rehearsals to follow. Befriending an older student gave me the confidence to make more friends in choir.
Present day. Tristan Poon is my best friend. He has spent countless hours helping me practice for singing tests, perfecting my musical theory, and of course, the occasional karaoke day spent together. But I’m not the only one who benefits from his open, helpful nature; often I overhear him helping a fellow tenor get a hard rhythm just right, and many of the male singers look up to him. Despite his musical talent, he is extremely down-to-earth, earnest, and approachable. As an extremely shy grade nine, I needed someone who was approachable, more than anything else.
Tristan is currently in many different ensembles. As mentioned earlier, he is a tenor, and sings in the Concert Choir, the Madrigal Choir, and the Chamber Choir. He also plays clarinet in the Wind Ensemble, and was part of the small, select group that accompanied Mu Fei Jiang’s concerto at the 2009 Sounds of Spring concert. Last year, he was in the exclusive Teens Conference band, singing hymns and uplifting songs about the power of faith. This band was made of eight members: three vocalists, an acoustic guitarist, a bass guitarist, a pianist, a violinist, and a drummer. Tristan was often the lead vocalist, mainly interacting with and motivating the crowd. This year, he gracefully passed on the torch to the new TC band.
This year is Tristan’s first year on Music Council. He has a lot of leadership experience; he has spent many summers volunteering at day camps, coordinated fellow worshippers during Hosanna Fellowship meetings as a chairperson, helped out students as the grade nine gifted instrumental band teacher assistant, and is currently leading Woburn’s Youth Alive. Youth Alive is a group of people who meet every Friday to discuss current world issues from a Christian standpoint, as well as from the standpoints of other religions.
Undoubtedly, Tristan has made huge contributions to the music community at Woburn, as well as outside of school. I have personally observed that he is quite amiable, and is able to become good friends with just about anybody. He did, after all, have the patience to befriend a silly little grade nine girl.
- Ambar Bin-Soekardji

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