By NASA MARIA ENTABAN
alltherage@thestar.com.my

WHENEVER Nisa Addina Mohd Taufik picks up her violin and begins to play, she gets chills up and down her spine.
As it turns out, so does everyone who listens to her – including the judges who awarded her three gold medals awardsat the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) 2011 in Hollywood, California, last month.

The 14-year-old Sarawakian music prodigy from Sarawak was actually a late entry into the competition, which is held every year to recognise talent among singers, dancers, actors, models, instrumentalists, and variety artistes (jugglers, magicians, etc). WCOPA is now in its 15th year.

Nisa’s mother, Hadiah Rahman Hamzah, submitted a CD of one of her performances to the organisers of WCOPA. , held for the 15th year, and being a member of the Permata Seni Muzik Orchestra, a programme that aims to expose young Malaysian musical talents to the international arena, was instrumental in getting Nisa into the competition, as all the members in Malaysia were selected for auditions.

“It was very hectic and I only had one month to practice all five songs. I slept at 1am or 2am in the morningevery day to prepare the music and practices. I even almost got demerits in school for arriving late!” said Nisa.

Nisa Addina Mohd Taufik, 14, won three gold awards at the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) 2011

The young musician went through a few stages in the competition before reaching the grand finals, and when she won the awards“Junior Grand Champion Instrumentalist of the World” award and was named the overall champion in both classical instrument and contemporary instrument categories, she could barely believe it.

“One word – awesome! Before I went to Hollywood, I didn’t expect to achieve so much,” said Nisa.

The student from SMK Batu Lintang, Kuching, Sarawak,started playing the piano at the age of six, then picked up the violin at seven.

“My mum taught me the basics on piano before I went to a music school, and I would always hear my dad playing the keyboard and singing along to the oldies,” she recalled.

“He would search for the right chord and add some ‘decorations’ to the song.” Apart from making her spine tingle, Nisa has always found playing music an incredibly creative activity, and when she isn’t playing to prepare for performances or exams, she plays music as a way of de-stressing.

Playing music helps Nisa de-stress

“Music relaxes the mind and makes us forget our worries,” Nisa noted. Apart from playing music, she also enjoys watching anime programmes and playing video games. when she’s not playing music or at school.Her daily routine includes playing her instruments, studying, Facebook-ing and tweeting.

Nisa has beenThe orchestra member she has been a member of the Sarawak State Orchestra since she was eight years old and loves performing with other instrumentalists.

“The thing that I love about being in an orchestra is listening to all those instruments working together, singing in harmony, responding to each other. It’s like a conversation between the instruments. I can really feel the music,” Nisa shared.

Her dream has always been to become a professional musician and perform around the globe.

“I love performing. I want to go on tours and entertain people from all over the world,” she said.