Do I really want to do the violin as a career? Do I love the violin so much that I want to spend the rest of my life with it? These questions pondered in my mind as I looked out the window in my dad's car on the way to the Heifetz Summer Music Institute. Since I am 15 yrs old and going to college soon (time flies fast), I realized I really needed to think about what I might want to do as an adult. So during the summer, I went to Heifetz to spend time with other great string musicians and teachers, practice a lot of violin, and really understand what path I should take.
When I arrived at Heifetz Summer Institute, I realized something: I'm going to be away from my family for six weeks! This realization made me feel unsettled, but I knew I needed to come and seek a glimpse of my promise as a violinist. I went to the rather bare-bone dorm, and met a handful of string musicians similar to me. They were all normal people from around the world, and we all shared a common thing: our love for music. When introducing ourselves, we all said where we were from and what school/teacher we're studying from. When I told Amber, a girl from Taiwan, about where I'm from,
"You go to Juilliard!?" exclaimed Amber, who was staring at me with wide eyes and an open mouth
"Yes, I've been going there for four years." I was confused as to why this girl was excited over the school I go to. "You must be so good! Going to Juilliard-that's amazing! Not many people go there" she said. "Oh...well,um...I'm not that good, and there are a lot that go to the precollege", I mumbled. As Amber continued to say how good of a violin player I was, I stood there thinking about what she said. It's true that Juilliard was a great school for the arts, and some of the best players came from there, but recently, I've been wondering if I really am worth being part of Juilliard. But I realized something: I was chosen by Juilliard and Heifetz Summer Institute, both being prestigious places, to come and be part of them. Both chose me because I was a good player. I have every right and opportunity to be as great as any violinist in Juilliard. This revelation made me instantly hopeful, and I finally confronted myself expressing self-doubts with the phrase "Oh, I'm the black sheep of the Juilliard Pre-college". One of the bad habits that I tend to have is not practicing the violin as much as I should due to distractions. …show more content…
With everyone practicing all the time at Heifetz, this motivated me to vigorously practice as well. As the first week passed, I was given the opportunity to perform the 3rd movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, and also that same week to perform a piece with my chamber group. With the concert looming, I practiced a solid number of hours to make it great for my colleagues and for the audience. My appreciation of music also increased with listening to my friends every day at concerts, and having a huge exposure to music every day made me truly happy to be able to have this luxury. The day of the concert arrived. It had been a while since I performed, and I was also playing in front of professional musicians and students, so the anxiety level was bursting over the limit. Throughout the whole concert, I was practicing little bits and pacing around, waiting for my cue call for what would be the closing piece to the concert. Then, it was time. The stage was set. The curtain rises. Bright lights shine onto the stage. My heart is pounding with excitement and nervousness behind the stage. Two legs then move that pounding heart onto the stage. After a bow to the respectful audience, the violin is lifted up, put under the jaw, and the bow is either on or off the string. I am ready to begin. Although eight minutes may seem like a long time, I stole as much of that time to captivate the audience and concentrated on bringing the best out of the joyful piece I was playing. But I do remember that when I was playing, I felt confident, comforted by my friends who were in the audience. My heart was beating loudly and
When I arrived at Heifetz Summer Institute, I realized something: I'm going to be away from my family for six weeks! This realization made me feel unsettled, but I knew I needed to come and seek a glimpse of my promise as a violinist. I went to the rather bare-bone dorm, and met a handful of string musicians similar to me. They were all normal people from around the world, and we all shared a common thing: our love for music. When introducing ourselves, we all said where we were from and what school/teacher we're studying from. When I told Amber, a girl from Taiwan, about where I'm from,
"You go to Juilliard!?" exclaimed Amber, who was staring at me with wide eyes and an open mouth
"Yes, I've been going there for four years." I was confused as to why this girl was excited over the school I go to. "You must be so good! Going to Juilliard-that's amazing! Not many people go there" she said. "Oh...well,um...I'm not that good, and there are a lot that go to the precollege", I mumbled. As Amber continued to say how good of a violin player I was, I stood there thinking about what she said. It's true that Juilliard was a great school for the arts, and some of the best players came from there, but recently, I've been wondering if I really am worth being part of Juilliard. But I realized something: I was chosen by Juilliard and Heifetz Summer Institute, both being prestigious places, to come and be part of them. Both chose me because I was a good player. I have every right and opportunity to be as great as any violinist in Juilliard. This revelation made me instantly hopeful, and I finally confronted myself expressing self-doubts with the phrase "Oh, I'm the black sheep of the Juilliard Pre-college". One of the bad habits that I tend to have is not practicing the violin as much as I should due to distractions. …show more content…
With everyone practicing all the time at Heifetz, this motivated me to vigorously practice as well. As the first week passed, I was given the opportunity to perform the 3rd movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, and also that same week to perform a piece with my chamber group. With the concert looming, I practiced a solid number of hours to make it great for my colleagues and for the audience. My appreciation of music also increased with listening to my friends every day at concerts, and having a huge exposure to music every day made me truly happy to be able to have this luxury. The day of the concert arrived. It had been a while since I performed, and I was also playing in front of professional musicians and students, so the anxiety level was bursting over the limit. Throughout the whole concert, I was practicing little bits and pacing around, waiting for my cue call for what would be the closing piece to the concert. Then, it was time. The stage was set. The curtain rises. Bright lights shine onto the stage. My heart is pounding with excitement and nervousness behind the stage. Two legs then move that pounding heart onto the stage. After a bow to the respectful audience, the violin is lifted up, put under the jaw, and the bow is either on or off the string. I am ready to begin. Although eight minutes may seem like a long time, I stole as much of that time to captivate the audience and concentrated on bringing the best out of the joyful piece I was playing. But I do remember that when I was playing, I felt confident, comforted by my friends who were in the audience. My heart was beating loudly and