By Diane Huang and Sophy Chu 朱子栩
Jade Music Fest artist Eunice Keitan’s parents, Boon and Stephanie, shared their love of the arts with their daughter along with their multilingual and multicultural background.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Stephanie’s path crossed with Boon’s in Montreal, where he had immigrated to with his family from Malaysia. The two shared a common bond beyond their Asian roots: they both studied food science at McGill University. In a lighthearted quip, Stephanie credits their marriage to this shared academic experience, noting that her lab partner was also Boon’s brother
Growing up, Boon’s home was a linguistic blend of Hokchew and Hokkien, the dialects his mother and father spoke. “We would switch from one to another depending on who we were talking to,” he recalls. His father, with an eye on the future, also made sure English was spoken at home, recognizing that it could open up more opportunities.
Since the family speaks multiple languages and dialects, they had to find a common language. “My grandmother can speak all of them, but the rest of us can only speak one dialect properly, so it’s really hard to communicate as a group. English was just a common language that everybody could speak, especially in family reunions,” Eunice states.
Both Boon and Stephanie’s families shared a deep appreciation for the arts, from music to ballroom dancing to magic. Stephanie’s father, a professional magician, would put on daily magic shows for her when she was a child in Hong Kong.
“I got to see a different magic show every day,” Eunice fondly recalls, “he would be pulling bunnies out of hats, making things disappear and reappear out of my ears. That’s probably why my parents are totally fine with me being a musician, because performing and entertaining is in the blood.”
Keitan recorded a duet with her mom
Boon’s mother also fostered a love of music in the family. She was an avid singer and owned a vinyl record player, a rare luxury in Malaysia at the time. “My parents introduced a lot of things to us,” Boon recalls. “There were five of us children, and we were raised on that vinyl collection.”
He and his four siblings were exposed to many different styles of music. Boon and his brother even took lessons with their mother; he studied piano, and his brother learned the violin.
“We never intended on being professional because, you know, we Chinese, we don’t want our children to be musicians,” Boon says with a laugh. “We typically want doctors and lawyers.”
Despite his parents’ aversion to music as a career, Boon supported Eunice’s early talent in the arts. “She loves art of any form. It was a progression from dance to visual arts and gradually she went into music. If you have a passion for it—and not just passion—you have the ability and potential. I think you should go for it,” explains Boon.
Eunice recalls that rather than watching television, her family would sing together. Stephanie and Eunice once recorded a duet of “Que Sera Sera”, which is also one of her grandfather’s favourite songs.
Boon and Stephanie’s support for Eunice is as deep as their knowledge of her music. Stephanie says she knows every one of her daughter’s songs and what Eunice was going through when she wrote them. When Eunice was first developing her songwriting skills, Boon was her first and most trusted listener, always encouraging her to push her creative boundaries
While Stephanie says all of Eunice’s songs are her favourites, “Hope is a Bird” holds a special place in her heart. “I find it very refreshing. I think hope is very important,” she says. “Even when she’s not singing, I still have her songs in my head.”
When asked if she would ever bring her parents on stage with her, Eunice enthusiastically says she would love to, but the venues she plays aren’t always the nicest. She muses that maybe the Jade Music Fest would be the perfect opportunity.
Boon, however, quickly jumps in. “I think we prefer to listen to her,” he says with a smile.
Watch Eunice Keitan’s music video for “Hope is a Bird”.
Learn more about Eunice Keitan’s musical journey at eunicekeitan.com. This is one of a series of Toronto Spark articles about Canadian musicians of Asian ancestry who were supported by their parents as they pursued careers as singers and songwriters. These musicians have all performed at the Jade Music Fest, which promotes underrepresented artists by offering them a platform to perform. This event also fosters intergenerational connections by celebrating Chinese-language music created by artists born in Canada and abroad. The next Jade Music Fest will be in Vancouver from November 5 to 8.
Learn more about the communities that make up Canada on the Toronto Spark website. Find the Toronto Spark on Bluesky @torontospark.bsky.social.
