The floor creaks as the rest of the orchestra heads backstage after rehearsal. I can smell the ancient wood of the Gewandhaus, and I feel simultaneously warm from the lights and cold as nerves set in. Before me, 1,500 seats wait to be filled. I take a deep breath, pick up my trumpet, and smile as the sound carries throughout the hall. What started as five minutes of practicing becomes 30 minutes of serenading my friends in this beautiful hall. I first wanted a trumpet for my seventh birthday. I was told, “You’re too young; you don’t have the lung capacity, or big enough hands!” Finally, a high school band director agreed to give me a few lessons, which became a solid audition for the Rockford Symphony Youth Orchestra at age eight. I have since devoted 25 hours a week to practicing and performing with ensembles like RSYO, the NIU Sinfonia, and, most recently, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Music brings out different emotions; it can be joyful, thrilling, playful, or even despondent. The same piece played on different days sparks different emotions. These elements constantly make music feel new to me, which is why I always seek out new opportunities to perform, like the CYSO. It wasn’t easy preparing for the audition with my already packed performance schedule. I had to step up my game and calm my nerves to execute the challenging pieces perfectly, but I earned a spot in the top orchestra as an 8th grader. As a kid from the country with no high school band or orchestra, CYSO provided me a chance to see, hear, and record amazing scores of music and gave me a sense of the professional world. I loved it… until Covid. Covid was difficult for me and many others in the music world. We couldn’t practice together as an orchestra, so the CYSO’s solution was to hold online community interactive rehearsals. It was the best they could do, but for the first time in my life; I wasn’t enjoying music. I missed my favorite parts; the emotions, the excitement, the suspense. The Zoom orchestra was hard because we weren’t making music; we were making noise. I needed to trick my brain and create my own emotions for the music. As I rehearsed, I added a headset. I would play but imagine the stage, the sounds, and the feeling of performing with my friends. After each rehearsal, I noticed my playing improving; my imaginative process rose to the challenge, and the Zoom orchestra slowly became tolerable. After two years without in-person music, I walked back into our rehearsal hall, questioning if I wanted to continue with the CYSO. After the first note from the orchestra, LIVE, I realized I was happiest performing on stage, making music with my friends, and my enthusiasm returned. The Covid orchestra taught me an important lesson; as long as I have enough mental endurance, I can get through anything. I learned to push through tough moments, even when I couldn’t quite see the purpose. I’m glad I didn’t quit. Quitting would have been a short-term fix, but patience got me better results. After being delayed a year, my orchestra and I eventually toured around Europe and performed four concerts in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The highlight of this trip was the sold-out concert in Leipzig and my pre-show serenade at the Gewandhaus. This experience showed me what it was like to be a professional musician by teaching me the responsibility and determination necessary to be on tour and showing me how to balance a busy schedule with minimal sleep. I want to study music in college and eventually make it a career, and I know skills like perseverance and experiences like the European tour have prepared me to expect the unexpected and succeed as a musician, even in unpredictable circumstances.

The floor creaks as the rest of the orchestra heads backstage after rehearsal. I can smell the ancient wood of the Gewandhaus, and I feel simultaneously warm from the lights and cold as nerves set in. Before me, 1,500 seats wait to be filled. I take a deep breath, pick up my trumpet, and smile as the sound carries throughout the hall. What started as five minutes of practicing becomes 30 minutes of serenading my friends in this beautiful hall. I first wanted a trumpet for my seventh birthday. I was told, “You’re too young; you don’t have the lung capacity, or big enough hands!” Finally, a high school band director agreed to give me a few lessons, which became a solid audition for the Rockford Symphony Youth Orchestra at age eight. I have since devoted 25 hours a week to practicing and performing with ensembles like RSYO, the NIU Sinfonia, and, most recently, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Music brings out different emotions; it can be joyful, thrilling, playful, or even despondent. The same piece played on different days sparks different emotions. These elements constantly make the music feel new to me, which is why I always seek out new opportunities to perform, like the CYSO. It wasn’t easy preparing for the audition with my already packed performance schedule. I had to step up my game and calm my nerves to execute the challenging pieces perfectly, but I earned a spot in the top orchestra as an 8th grader. As a kid from the country with no high school band or orchestra, CYSO provided me a chance to see, hear, and record amazing scores of music and gave me a sense of the professional world. I loved it… until Covid. After two years without in-person music, I walked back into our rehearsal hall, questioning if I wanted to continue with the CYSO. After the first note from the orchestra, LIVE, I realized I was happiest performing on stage, making music with my friends, and my enthusiasm returned. The Covid orchestra taught me an important lesson; as long as I have enough mental endurance, I can get through anything. I learned to push through tough moments, even when I couldn’t quite see the purpose. I’m glad I didn’t quit. Quitting would have been a short-term fix, but patience got me better results. After being delayed a year, my orchestra and I eventually toured around Europe and performed four concerts in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The highlight of this trip was the sold-out concert in Leipzig and my pre-show serenade at the Gewandhaus. This experience showed me what it was like to be a professional musician by teaching me the responsibility and determination necessary to be on tour and showing me how to balance a busy schedule with minimal sleep. I want to study music in college and eventually make it a career, and I know skills like perseverance and experiences like the European tour have prepared me to expect the unexpected and succeed as a musician, even in unpredictable circumstances.

The floor creaks as the rest of the orchestra heads backstage after rehearsal. I can smell the ancient wood of the Gewandhaus, and I feel simultaneously warm from the lights and cold as nerves set in. Before me, 1,500 seats wait to be filled. I take a deep breath, pick up my trumpet, and smile as the sound carries throughout the hall. What started as five minutes of practicing becomes 30 minutes of serenading my friends in this beautiful hall. I first wanted a trumpet for my seventh birthday. I was told, “You’re too young; you don’t have the lung capacity, or big enough hands!” Finally, a high school band director agreed to give me a few lessons, which became a solid audition for the Rockford Symphony Youth Orchestra at age eight. I have since devoted 25 hours a week to practicing and performing with ensembles like RSYO, the NIU Sinfonia, and, most recently, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Music brings out different emotions; it can be joyful, thrilling, playful, or even despondent. The same piece played on different days sparks different emotions. These elements constantly make music feel new to me, which is why I always seek out new opportunities to perform, like the CYSO. It wasn’t easy preparing for the audition with my already packed performance schedule. I had to step up my game and calm my nerves to execute the challenging pieces perfectly, but I earned a spot in the top orchestra as an 8th grader. As a kid from the country with no high school band or orchestra, CYSO provided me a chance to see, hear, and record amazing scores of music and gave me a sense of the professional world. I loved it… until Covid. After two years without in-person music, I walked back into our rehearsal hall, questioning if I wanted to continue with the CYSO. After the first note from the orchestra, LIVE, I realized I was happiest performing on stage, making music with my friends, and my enthusiasm returned. The Covid orchestra taught me an important lesson; as long as I have enough mental endurance, I can get through anything. I learned to push through tough moments, even when I couldn’t quite see the purpose. I’m glad I didn’t quit. Quitting would have been a short-term fix, but patience got me better results. After being delayed a year, my orchestra and I eventually toured around Europe and performed four concerts in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The highlight of this trip was the sold-out concert in Leipzig and my pre-show serenade at the Gewandhaus. This experience showed me what it was like to be a professional musician by teaching me the responsibility and determination necessary to be on tour and showing me how to balance a busy schedule with minimal sleep. I want to study music in college and eventually make it a career, and I know skills like perseverance and experiences like the European tour have prepared me to expect the unexpected and succeed as a musician, even in unpredictable circumstances.

The floor creaks as the rest of the orchestra heads backstage after rehearsal. I can smell the ancient wood of the Gewandhaus, and I feel simultaneously warm from the lights and cold as nerves set in. Before me, 1,500 seats wait to be filled. I take a deep breath, pick up my trumpet, and smile as the sound carries throughout the hall. What started as five minutes of practicing becomes 30 minutes of serenading my friends in this beautiful hall. I first wanted a trumpet for my seventh birthday. I was told, “You’re too young; you don’t have the lung capacity, or big enough hands!” Finally, a high school band director agreed to give me a few lessons, which became a solid audition for the Rockford Symphony Youth Orchestra at age eight. I have since devoted 25 hours a week to practicing and performing with ensembles like RSYO, the NIU Sinfonia, and, most recently, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Music brings out different emotions; it can be joyful, thrilling, playful, or even despondent. The same piece played on different days sparks different emotions. These elements constantly make music feel new to me, which is why I always seek out new opportunities to perform, like the CYSO. It wasn’t easy preparing for the audition with my already packed performance schedule. I had to step up my game and calm my nerves to execute the challenging pieces perfectly, but I earned a spot in the top orchestra as an 8th grader. As a kid from a country with no high school band or orchestra, CYSO provided me a chance to see, hear, and record amazing scores of music and gave me a sense of the professional world. I loved it After two years without in-person music, I walked back into our rehearsal hall, questioning if I wanted to continue with the CYSO. After the first note from the orchestra, LIVE, I realized I was happiest performing on stage, making music with my friends, and my enthusiasm returned. The Covid orchestra taught me an important lesson; if I have enough mental endurance, I can get through anything. I learned to push through tough moments, even when I couldn’t quite see the purpose. I’m glad I didn’t quit. Quitting would have been a short-term fix, but patience got me better results. After being delayed a year, my orchestra and I eventually toured around Europe and performed four concerts in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The highlight of this trip was the sold-out concert in Leipzig and my pre-show serenade at the Gewandhaus. This experience showed me what it was like to be a professional musician by teaching me the responsibility and determination necessary to be on tour and showing me how to balance a busy schedule with minimal sleep. I will be studying Trumpet Performance at the New England Conservatory (NEC) and eventually make it a career. NEC will provide me with the top-level musical training with the best musicians in the world. I will be immersed in Music for four years and will zone in on my craft of trumpet pedagogy, music theory and the most complex orchestra scores written. I know skills like perseverance and experiences like the European tour have prepared me to expect the unexpected and I will succeed as a musician, even in unpredictable circumstances.

The floor creaks as the rest of the orchestra heads backstage after rehearsal. I can smell the ancient wood of the Gewandhaus, and I feel simultaneously warm from the lights and cold as nerves set in. Before me, 1,500 seats wait to be filled. I take a deep breath, pick up my trumpet, and smile as the sound carries throughout the hall. What started as five minutes of practicing becomes 30 minutes of serenading my friends in this beautiful hall. I first wanted a trumpet for my seventh birthday. I was told, “You’re too young; you don’t have the lung capacity, or big enough hands!” Finally, a high school band director, Mr. Green agreed to give me a few lessons, which became a solid audition for the Rockford Symphony Youth Orchestra at age eight. I have since devoted 25 hours a week to practicing and performing with four ensembles most recently, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Music brings out different emotions; it can be joyful, thrilling, playful, or even despondent. The same piece played on different days sparks different emotions. Mr. Green, helped me find the next audition, the next level teacher, and I as a kid from the country with no high school band or orchestra, I was offered a seat at the CYSO top orchestra which provided me a chance to see, hear, and record amazing scores of music and gave me a sense of the professional world. After two years without in-person music, I walked back into our rehearsal hall, questioning if I wanted to continue with the CYSO. After the first note from the orchestra, LIVE, I realized I was happiest performing on stage, making music with my friends, and my enthusiasm returned. Mr. Green started the young little seven-year-old on how to hold a trumpet and he taught me to never quit. Quitting would have been a short-term fix, but patience got me better results. After being delayed a year, my orchestra and I eventually toured around Europe and performed four concerts in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The highlight of this trip was the sold-out concert in Leipzig and my pre-show serenade at the Gewandhaus. This experience showed me what it was like to be a professional musician by teaching me the responsibility and determination necessary to be on tour and showing me how to balance a busy schedule with minimal sleep. I will be studying Trumpet Performance at the New England Conservatory (NEC) and eventually make it a career. NEC will provide me with top-level musical training with the best musicians in the world. I will be immersed in Music for four years and will zone in on my craft of trumpet pedagogy, music theory and the most complex orchestra scores written. I know skills like perseverance and experiences like the European tour have prepared me to expect the unexpected and I will succeed as a musician, even in unpredictable circumstances. "Do you want to teach trumpet to a 1st grader? " Thank you Mr. Green, you molded my life, my career my future. Thank you for your inspiration.