When my dad was a child, he found a plethora of classical music records in his basement and instantly fell in love with opera. When my mom was pregnant with me, she would often play classical music on the record player to reduce my movement. When I was a baby, my grandfather played piano for me, a hobby of his that was completely self-taught. When I was a toddler, my dad often took me to the city to watch chamber and orchestral performances, as well as smaller performances in our community. Watching violin concertos together was an activity that we treasured. When I was four, I found my dad’s retired violin in his closet. I remember being entranced by this wooden object, and when I found out that you could be taught how to make beautiful sounds with it, I was sold. I begged my parents for months to enroll me in lessons, and when they realized I was serious about it, I began taking lessons with my dad’s former teacher. She would then become one of my biggest supporters and influencers. Practicing became fun and I would often play violin instead of doing other activities, such as watching television. When I was fourteen, I made the decision that I wanted to play violin professionally. Later in high school, I began studying with another teacher in Philadelphia who helped me audition into the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra as a first violinist, District Orchestra festivals, and eventually university. When I met Carlos Rubio at the Wells School of Music, I knew this was where I wanted to be to further my studies. All my life, music has been very prevalent, and often my family would communicate through that. When the time came around to write my college essay, I had a risky idea to write about how I had trouble with writing. I have always had difficulty expressing myself through words and found I wasn’t able to convey emotion as naturally. I began to believe I wasn’t a creative person but quickly realized this was something I could achieve through music. Music gives people the opportunity to communicate without words, which means people of different cultures, languages, and abilities can share something intimate and expressive. Music is one of the only traditions every person experiences and enjoys, regardless of the genre. Especially with classical music, there’s a level of emotion that most people, even those who have no background in music, can understand. Once I realized music was my predominant form of communication and expression, I knew I needed to use this to my advantage, and performance quickly became my passion. I hope to one day perform with a major orchestra, but for now, my goal is to provide an experience through my music and keep the classical music world alive. I know I will end up teaching one day, and I can only hope that I inspire younger musicians the same way I was inspired. My favorite part of a performance is the silence that comes before the applause. This tells me that the audience is almost coming back to reality, coming back to wherever they went in their mind during the performance, when they’re processing what I have just “told” them. Of course, self-doubt is something every musician will experience and have to work around, but never for a moment have I doubted my career choice and know this is something I want to give back to future generations.

When my dad was a child, he found a plethora of classical music records in his basement and instantly fell in love with opera. When my mom was pregnant with me, she would often play classical music on the record player to reduce my movement. When I was a baby, my grandfather played piano for me, a hobby of his that was completely self-taught. When I was a toddler, my dad often took me to the city to watch chamber and orchestral performances, as well as smaller performances in our community. Watching violin concertos together was an activity that we treasured. When I was four, I found my dad’s retired violin in his closet. I remember being entranced by this wooden object, and when I found out that you could be taught how to make beautiful sounds with it, I was sold. I begged my parents for months to enroll me in lessons, and when they realized I was serious about it, I began taking lessons with my dad’s former teacher. She would then become one of my biggest supporters and influencers. Practicing became fun and I would often play violin instead of doing other activities, such as watching television. When I was fourteen, I made the decision that I wanted to play violin professionally. Later in high school, I began studying with another teacher in Philadelphia who helped me audition into the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra as a first violinist, District Orchestra festivals, and eventually university. When I met Carlos Rubio at the Wells School of Music, I knew this was where I wanted to be to further my studies. All my life, music has been very prevalent, and often my family would communicate through that. When the time came around to write my college essay, I had a risky idea to write about how I had trouble with writing. I have always had difficulty expressing myself through words and found I wasn’t able to convey emotion as naturally. I began to believe I wasn’t a creative person but quickly realized this was something I could achieve through music. When Longfellow wrote “Music is the universal language of mankind”, I know exactly what he meant. Music gives people the opportunity to communicate without words, which means people of different cultures, languages, and abilities can share something intimate and expressive. Music is one of the only traditions every person experiences and enjoys, regardless of the genre. Especially with classical music, there’s a level of emotion that most people, even those who have no background in music, can understand. Once I realized music was my predominant form of communication and expression, I knew I needed to use this to my advantage, and performance quickly became my passion. I hope to one day perform with a major orchestra, but for now, my goal is to provide an experience through my music and keep the classical music world alive. I know I will end up teaching one day, and I can only hope that I inspire younger musicians the same way I was inspired. My favorite part of a performance is the silence that comes before the applause. This tells me that the audience is almost coming back to reality, coming back to wherever they went in their mind during the performance, when they’re processing what I have just “told” them. Of course, self-doubt is something every musician will experience and have to work around, but never for a moment have I doubted my career choice and know this is something I want to give back to future generations.