Taiwan teen actress starts new chapter with cello

Ouyang Nana, 15, has fulfilled her musical ambition with the release of an album.[Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

Most audiences on the Chinese mainland know Ouyang Nana as the teenage Taiwan actress who played the role of a high-school student in last year's romantic comedy Beijing Love Story.

In the past year, the actress has gained more recognition by starring in the movie To the Fore and appearing on the reality TV show Up Idol.

The 15-year-old has also fulfilled her musical ambition by releasing her first album as a cellist.

Titled 15, the album has 15 tracks, including Mendelssohn's cello sonatas, Songs Without Words and William Henry Squire's Tarantella Op 23 For Cello and Piano.

"Being a cellist has been an occupation I wanted since I was 8 years old," says Ouyang at a media conference in Beijing, while announcing her upcoming album in collaboration with Universal Music China.

"People know me from TV and movie screens. I have no idea how far my acting career can go, but I want them to know me as a cellist."

She spent three days recording the album, for around 10 hours each day. She lay on the ground and cried after the recording was over.

"It wasn't because of exhaustion but because I finally have my first cello album," she says.

"I have played hundreds of times for competitions－some are solo pieces and some I played with my schoolmates," she says of the album.

She chose the cello over piano because she was attracted to the sound of the instrument in childhood.

Ouyang has been creating a buzz in the music scene for long.

She gave a solo recital at Taipei's National Concert Hall at the age of 10, and launched a tour in Taiwan in 2011.

In 2013, she went to the United States to attend Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she was taught by renowned cellists Peter Wiley and Carter Brey.

In July, she staged a recital at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

Ouyang has lived under the spotlight from young. Both her parents, Ouyang Long and Fu Juan, are veteran actors, and her aunt Ouyang Feifei is a pop singer in Taiwan.

Since childhood, Ouyang Nana has appeared on various TV shows with her parents and two sisters, Ouyang Nini, 19, and Ouyang Didi, 11.

"My father didn't think I would take up the cello as a career until I won some awards in Taiwan. But my mother has always been supportive. She taught me to pursue a career that's built on interests," Ouyang Nana says.

"I'm lucky to have the cello in my life and to take it up professionally."

In 2014, she co-authored a book with her mother, titled Only & Nana, in which she reveals her pursuit of a musical dream.

"Since she studied the cello, I also learned some knowledge about classical music," says Fu, 53.

"I would like to be introduced to the audiences as Nana's mother from now on."

Now living in Taiwan, Ouyang Nana spends more than five hours practicing every day. She compares being a cellist with being an athlete, requiring long hours of practice.

"The biggest difference is that the average career span of most athletes is not long but for a musician, his or her longevity is unpredictable," she says.