In today’s world, there are times it becomes difficult to see past our divisiveness. Our entire experiences, careers, and climates can seem to drive us apart. We are eight billion. But when someone picks up a cello, sits down at a piano, or hums a familiar melody, we become one. For that fleeting moment, we become something more than ourselves. We become one heart, each moved by this shared experience. And, united by music, we become one beat, capable of changing the world for the better. With this incredible truth in mind, I’ve set my sights on one goal as a musician: to make music accessible to all listeners… and let everyone become a part of this one heart. In pursuit of this dream, I’ve spread my music as a speaker in local elementary schools; as a performer in benefit concerts, prayer services, and community events; and with the world as a whole. In 2022, amid the conflict in Ukraine, I composed and recorded a four-cello arrangement of the Ukrainian National Anthem, which provided comfort to thousands worldwide while helping raise hundreds of dollars for activist organizations. And in my local community, one of my most valued moments was visiting a classroom full of first-graders. Seeing their faces light up while hearing a cello for the very first time, I realized that they, too, were becoming part of one heart through music. With these experiences and more, I have witnessed music’s healing, inspiring, and uniting power first-hand. The further beauty of music is that in order to reach all people, it can take on all forms. Whether an orchestral performance in a concert hall or an impromptu karaoke session, every style and variation holds the same capabilities to move others in different ways. That’s why I’ve pushed myself to explore all corners of the musical scene. Beyond being a cellist in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and other classical ensembles, I’ve taken every opportunity to experiment, collaborate, and create new sounds. One of my favorite, most unexpected collaborations was as a cello-clarinet double concerto soloist with Play On Philly, an organization providing no-cost music education to underserved students in Philadelphia. I have also explored collaborative piano and jazz vocals, and my arrangements for voice and pizzicato cello have exposed audiences to new possibilities on my instrument. With each new angle, I connect with even more new listeners, and I’m excited to continue on this mission in my upcoming career - both at Boston University and beyond as a professional cellist. Music, with its ever-changing genres, diverse instrumentation, and constant variation, is just like us. Different voices, different lives, different perspectives. And yet, despite it all, there is one thing that every melody has in common: the power to inspire those who listen. With each new community reached, we become connected by one incredible, intangible art form. Music, for as long as we share it, turns eight billion into one. One heart. One beat. A heart that I am proud to be a part of, and a beat that I will continue forever.