Shek Ko of Brampton Lyric Opera
Shek Ko is a Toronto based conductor who is with the Brampton Lyric Opera. A few years ago, she attempted to start a company called Panda Eye Passion that catered to “virtuoso inspiration, youth involvement, and cultural exchange tours, all with a multicultural twist.”
For her first show, Mother’s Day Italian Classics Concert: 1 Tenor, 10 High Cs, 100 Angels, Countless Love, a musical extravaganza that featured violinist Mario Zhang, she contacted me by phone for a press release and to get online exposure. Set for Sunday, May 6, 2007, she contacted me in mid Feb. Here’s what happened next:
Feb 26, 2007: emailed her quote for requested services.
Feb 27: Agreed and says will send a 50% deposit.
March 1: she requested a business letter to be edited. Additional cost added to outstanding balance.
March 2: First draft of press release.
March 12: Final draft completed. Press release out on March 14.
April 3: Email reminder for outstanding payment of $329.10 not sent. June 6: Another email reminder as well as letter sent to her home address.
June 7, 2007: Sent to collection agency. No success in getting the money (I guess since the amount was so small, they didn’t try very hard)
I also called her SEVERAL times, but I don’t remember the exact dates. Most of the time, it went to voice mail so I left a message. The last time I called her a few months later, I did speak to someone who claimed that she “would be dealing with all of her unpaid bills”. I guess I wasn’t the only one she swindled.
Sure, it’s a small amount – but that’s not the point. I provided a service, exerted the effort to complete it and was not compensated for my work. If you’re a freelancer or small business owner, you’ll probably understand how infuriating it is to be duped like this.
And there’s no way to collect.
Shek Ko
Panda Eye Passion (apparently, it’s not even a registered company)
Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.
March 28th, 2009 at 9:25 am
I don’t work for either group involved, although I know them, but this complaint is in no way related to BLO. Shek is not “with BLO”, simply one who has been contracted to conduct a couple of performances in the past, and none this season. This is tantamount to blaming Allstate for the problems with the AIG bailouts because Edward M. Liddy used to work there(look it up if you don’t know what I’m talking about,although I would hope that a consumer complaint site would know.)The company’s performance history will confirm this. Please consider this a request to amended this posting.
April 4th, 2009 at 11:13 am
MM,
What groups are you referring to? The scammer and the scammed? This post describes the behaviour of Shek Ko and Panda Eye Passion, not Brampton Lyric Opera.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Why is Brampton Lyric Opera’s name in this article? In fact it is in the title. Why? If I used to work on a golf course and then started my own driving range……. there would be not reason for my former employer to be named if my business was in bad order.
This apparently happened in 2007 and it is now being written about in 2009. Sorry you have lost money – but again – why is Brampton Lyric Opera’s name in this article? Why?
May 29th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Wow, this seems to have gotten some great responses from Brampton Lyric Opera supporters, but not from Shek Ko herself.
Brampton Lyric Opera appears in the title because Shek Ko is a conductor with them, which seems to be her biggest claim to fame at the moment. Any more questions?