A young man studying music in Germany came home for a short visit during his summer vacation, and I had the chance to talk with him. From this young man, who has struggled since childhood to fulfill his dream of becoming a musician, I could glimpse the beautiful growth of a soul ripening just like his music. I could not help but feel proud and deeply joyful.

His dream of being a musician was not his alone. Behind it stood the devoted effort and painful tears of his parents, holding up his dream like a rock. His parents guided him with discipline and prayer, pouring love into him through God’s Word, embracing his struggles and loneliness, and nurturing his dream together. The young man believed that his life’s purpose was to offer himself to God through the world of music He had given, committing himself sincerely and wholeheartedly to every step of the process.

The first winter he spent in Germany lasted from August, when he arrived, until April of the following year—long, cold, and harsh. The loneliness he endured in the blizzards was like walking blindly in an invisible snowstorm, not knowing which way to turn. Even though he studied under the great teacher he had longed for, feelings of despair—“I am nothing”—overwhelmed him. More than twelve hours of daily practice and battles with himself sometimes filled him with fear. While the world rushed toward the age of high speed, he felt as though he was wasting away in medieval music, cut off from the modern world.

But he found comfort in his teacher and his colleagues. His teacher was an extraordinary person. Before teaching music, he showed through his own life that true music comes from tones born of a pure and sincere spirit. Unlike the rivalry, jealousy, and rumors he had once suffered in New York, his colleagues in Germany were completely different. They encouraged each other, corrected one another’s weaknesses, studied together, and pushed one another toward the deeper world of music. Yet the isolation, inferiority, and frustration of competing among the world’s best musicians still tormented him. One day, he confessed his anguish to his teacher, saying, “Teacher, I must be the worst among your students, right?” His voice trailed off in despair. But suddenly, the teacher grabbed him firmly, looked into his eyes, and declared, “Not one of my students is incapable! Not a single one!” With unwavering trust and encouragement, the teacher lifted him up. At last, the young man felt that the shape of his dream, long hidden in fog, was beginning to appear.

Yes, before a dream is fulfilled, one must endure chaos in life. There is pain, sacrifice, and tears. There is loneliness and despair. In unfamiliar surroundings, one must forge new relationships. There must be nights and days of wandering in fierce battles with oneself. Yet that place is holy, charged with mysterious power and energy—like high-voltage current—where only humans can dream.

And so today, for those who sweat, struggle, and sometimes suffer in despair in pursuit of their dreams, the Lord speaks:

“For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matt. 7:8)

Dreams belong to those who dream them. Whoever designs vast dreams for the future and works toward them will one day discover them. But dreams without design, sacrifice, and patience will never be fulfilled, even when the future arrives.

As I bid farewell once again to this young man leaving behind his parents and sister to pursue God’s calling in music, I could already see God’s mighty hand at work in his faith and obedience. I wait for the day when he will spread the elegant wings of melody on the world’s greatest stages. Until that day comes, I too cannot fold the wings of my prayer.

Tim Park

(Incontri in Terra di Siena) Cellist Tim Park has been praised for his energetic and exhilarating performances as well as for his expressive and beautiful sound.

In addition to performances as concert soloist, he has held the position of Assistant Principal Cellist of the Staatskapelle Berlin and cellist of the Erlenbusch String Quartet which has brought Tim to concert halls and stages in over 20 countries. Tim has performed with the New York Chamber Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin, Berliner Symphoniker, Philharmomie Sudwestfalen, Tel-Aviv Camerata, Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian National Chamber Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, as well as orchestras in Korea under conductors such as Vladimir Fedoseyev, David Geringas, Dmitri Jurowski, Theodore Kuchar, Gerard Schwarz, Leonard Slatkin, Nabil Shehata and Eduard Topchjan.

An avid recitalist and chamber musician, Tim has collaborated with some of today’s leading artists at music festivals worldwide. He has been a performer at the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, Intonations Festival in Berlin, Salzburg Festival, Schleswig- Holstein Musik Festival, Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele, Lucerne Festival, Bürgenstock Festival, International Pharos Chamber Music Festival in Cyprus, Santander Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, International Chamber Music Festival a l‘Emperi in Salon, Sonoro Bucharest and the Le Pont Music Festival in Ako and Himeji Japan. Among the distinguished musicians with whom he has collaborated include Daniel Barenboim, Elena Bashkirova, Alessio Bax, Kirill Gerstein, Denis Kozhukhin, Andras Schiff, Lahav Shani, Sunwook Kim, Yuja Wang, Kolja Blacher, Boris Brovtsyn, Renaud Capucon, Clara Jumi Kang, Daishin Kashimoto, Nikolaj Znaider, Nabil Shehata, Francois Leleux, Emmanuel Pahud, Jörg Widmann, Andreas Ottensamer, Till Bronner and Angela Denoke.

Born to Korean parents, Tim Park began music studies at the age of eight. At the age of eleven he entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York. He made his concerto debut with the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra at the age of thirteen and his New York Lincoln Center recital debut a year later. A Presidential Scholarship Award recipient he pursued medicine and music studies at Yale University. At the invitation of cellist David Geringas, Tim moved to Germany and completed his degrees at the Musikhochschule Lübeck and the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin, Germany. Tim has also participated in masterclass and lessons with the cellists Boris Pergamenschikov, Janos Starker, Steven Isserlis, Phillipe Muller, Arto Noras, as well as the Tokyo String Quartet and the LaSalle String Quartet. In 2013, Tim was awarded the Grand Prize of the S&R Foundation Washington Award which led to performance debuts at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and the Strathmore Hall in Baltimore.

Tim performs on a cello made by Gennaro Gagliano of Naples built in 1740.