For most of her life, Valerie Yeo grudgingly took up music lessons.
When she was 7, her mum sent her for piano classes.
“It meant being made to stay at home to practise instead of cycling with friends or going to the beach. So boring!” Valerie, now 33, recalled.
In her teens, she “was forced to join the string ensemble” at school and play the violin.
“I also had to learn about the history of Bach, Mozart and other composers,” said Valerie. “It was dry and boring.”
Today, the girl who disliked music spends countless hours on her harp – an instrument associated with angels and cherubs, and played by only a handful of people.
So how did the girl who disliked making music go on to be a harpist who is passionate about bringing hope and healing through heavenly melodies?
Big talent, little practice
Growing up, Valerie plodded through piano lessons.
“The effort I put in was minimal,” she confessed. “I barely practiced and did just enough to graduate through the grade levels.”
She would go on to complete Grade 8 in piano, “just finishing it so I can say I finished it”.
“I barely practiced and did just enough to graduate through the grade levels.”
In her early teens, she had to pick one elective class in secondary school: Either a foreign language or the Music Elective Programme (MEP) that maximises a student’s potential and passion for music.
Valerie wasn’t keen on either option, but joined the latter since she was familiar with music.
Valerie (back row, second from right) with her school’s string ensemble after performing at a nursing home. She lacked passion, but her band conductor identified her as someone with innate musical talent.
However, the programme did little to spark her interest.
Her band conductor quickly noticed Valerie’s natural musical talent, despite how little she practiced.
“Just before the Singapore Youth Festival competition, my conductor made each violinist play individually to hear how we sounded,” said Valerie.
“Music meant nothing to me.”
Impressed by Valerie’s skill, the conductor moved her to the front corner of the violin section – a seat usually reserved for the best player.
But instead of feeling honoured, Valerie remained indifferent.
“I went ‘Oh ok, whatever’. Music meant nothing to me.”
Valerie (middle of the back row) after a hockey match during her junior college years when she threw herself into sports and science and stayed away from music.
After two years, Valerie left the music elective programme, despite objections from her secondary school.
Keeping one finger in
In 2008, Valerie went to the UK to do a degree in chemistry. Afterwards, she stayed on to work at a pharmaceutical company, and completed her Master in Medicinal Chemistry.
During the four years she lived in the UK, she also joined a faith community. The close friendships kept her happy, even as “my own relationship with God was not especially exciting, just okay”.
Valerie (second from right) on a mission trip, with children from an orphanage, where she taught English.
While overseas, Valerie’s flatmate offered her an unused electric keyboard. She accepted it out of politeness.
In her free time, Valerie would sometimes – not often – tinker around on it.
Valerie’s (top left) faith group hailed from countries like India, Thailand, England, Zimbabwe, Germany and China.
“After passing my Grade 8, I didn’t really want to play music at all,” she confessed.
“But looking back, I think that the keyboard was God’s way of helping me keep at least one finger in music, so that I didn’t give it up entirely.”
Dream of a hedgehog
In 2014, two years after she returned to Singapore, Valerie was asked to join a series of 10 classes on prophetic harp playing.
In Valerie’s faith, prophetic music is believed to help listeners connect with God’s heart by merging melody with spiritual worship. (1 Samuel 10:5; Ephesians 5:19-20).
Valerie didn’t know how to play the harp nor was she interested in learning.
But out of respect to the church elder who had approached her, she promised to pray about it.
Then two weeks later, Valerie was surprised by a moment that changed her life: She had a dream that she still vividly remembers today.
Looking inside the pot, Valerie saw an unknown object wrapped in a membrane.
In her dream, Valerie was standing in front of a small pot. Looking inside it, she saw an unknown object wrapped in a membrane.
Suddenly, Valerie felt a strong presence appear next to her.
“Look closer,” the presence said to Valerie.
Obeying, Valerie gazed deeply into the membrane and saw something living and breathing within.
Hedgehogs have sharp spines that protect them from their natural predators. Photo from Canva.
Valerie instinctively knew it was an animal with many spines. It resembled a hedgehog.
Then as suddenly as the dream began, Valerie woke up.
From dream to reality
Valerie’s memory of the dream was jolted that very morning by a copy of The Straits Times.
On the front page was a photograph of a hedgehog.
Valerie wondered if the remarkable timing was a coincidence … or if it meant something more.
Doing some research, she learnt that baby hedgehogs are born with a thin membrane covering them.
How was it possible that she had dreamt about the same thing, prior to learning this fact?
Valerie believed that God was trying to tell her something important.
How does a hedgehog even relate to playing the stringed instrument?
Over the next few weeks, she prayed for further clarity.
Valerie eventually gleaned that the dream was God’s symbolic way of asking her to learn the harp.
But how does a hedgehog even relate to playing the stringed instrument?
“The hedgehog’s spines help to fend off its enemies,” explained Valerie.
“Similarly, the strings of the harp are like the spines on a hedgehog in the sense that playing the harp in the right setting can help to fend off evil in the spiritual realm, bringing peace to people’s bodies, minds, and souls.”
After praying about it, Valerie made the decision to enrol in the harp programme.
This revelation led Valerie to enrol in the harp programme – despite her long-standing lack of enthusiasm for music.
A fiancee’s wish
To many, the link between the hedgehog and the harp may seem tenuous, even strange.
However, a surprising incident in June 2022 confirmed Valerie’s dream.
A man she did not know was looking for a Christian harpist to play at his wedding; his fiancee had wished for their guests to enjoy music from the instrument associated with angels and heaven.
When Valerie brings her harp to the beach, strangers tell her how at peace they feel when they hear her play.
However, the man didn’t know any harpists.
So he asked God for the chance to meet a Christian harpist who would be willing to play on the special day.
While praying, he saw a peculiar vision out of nowhere: A creature with many spines. A hedgehog.
Unsure of what this meant, the man nonetheless made a note of this vision in his journal.
Weeks later, a colleague casually told him about a woman named Valerie, who once had a vision of a hedgehog that led her to play the harp.
Shocked by their specific, matching visions, the man quickly arranged to meet Valerie.
The man had seen a vision of a hedgehog as he prayed to meet a harpist who would play at his wedding.
When they met for the first time, the man showed her his journal entry. He shared how God had shown him a vision of a hedgehog as he prayed to meet a Christian harpist.
For Valerie, this meeting was a miraculous – and unexpected – affirmation of her dream.
She has agreed to play at the man’s wedding.
“That’s the most amazing part, knowing how things lined up,” Valerie said.
“It’s really amazing that God works in ways we cannot imagine.”
Music of the angels
Thanks to her musical experience, Valerie was able to master the harp easily.
Most of all, her learning journey has radically transformed her attitude towards music.
Learning the harp has radically transformed Valerie’s attitude towards music.
“Before learning the harp, I didn’t find much purpose in making music.
“Now, I have a bigger reason for playing the harp. Each time I play it, my intention is to bring God’s peace to others and to lift their spirits.”
Valerie has seen first-hand how the harp has calmed listeners in places like homes for the elderly and hospitals.
“Each time I play the harp, my intention is to bring God’s peace to others and to lift their spirits.” said Valerie who has performed for patients and the public.
Valerie was once invited to play the harp for a troubled teen who struggled to focus and had trouble interacting with others.
After months of prayer and listening to Valerie play, the girl’s mental state was dramatically restored. She later went on to complete her degree and now works as a psychologist.
Valerie and her harp have brought peace to many patients over the years.
On another occasion, Valerie met a woman in her 60s who was recovering from an operation, and distressed by family troubles.
Hoping to comfort her, Valerie played her an original melody she had composed for the harp.
The song brought tears to the woman’s eyes.
She later told Valerie that listening to her play had opened her heart up to God’s loving presence, which gave her the extra faith she needed amid her struggles.
Valerie (second from left) and other musicians to performing for the elderly at a nursing home.
Valerie has travelled the world to play the harp for people on the streets.
Such experiences have given Valerie a newfound appreciation for God’s plan for her life.
“I really thank God for the years I spent learning how to play and write music,” she said.
“Earlier on, I didn’t enjoy music. But now I see how He has gifted me with the musical skills to help people heal.”
“Earlier on, I didn’t enjoy it. But now I see how He has gifted me with the musical skills to help people heal.
“It’s something I love and have a strong desire to do.”
Songs of hope and healing
Valerie recently teamed up with a friend to release several of her original harp compositions online.
“I ran away from music for a long time,” Valerie said. “But today, my desire is that these songs will help others restore their hearts, minds, souls and bodies – and give them hope.”
Today, Valerie, who also works in a medical device company, hopes that the harp will one day be formally approved as an instrument to assist with people’s well-being.
And to think, all of this began with a dream of a hedgehog.
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