On being a musician
I’ve been a musician for 25 years, even more, if you count those elementary school lessons on the recorder. At the end of my 4thgrade year, Ms. Heinze, the Churchill High School orchestra director, came to my elementary school to recruit new players for her after school beginner string program. I walked timidly into the music room, not sure what to expect. Instruments lined the room for us to hold and try on.
Which instrument should I pick?
What’s that huge one in the corner? The bass? There’s no way I, a 10-year-old, was going to physically be able cart that huge instrument to and from lessons.
Pass.
What about the cello? Tempting. I could sit down and play. But then I tried picturing myself getting a cello on and off the school bus.
Not going to happen.
I made my way to the table where the smaller instruments were. I bypassed the table with the violas on it, because even at a young age, I had the foresight to know I did not want to play the viola. I picked up the violin, put it to my chin. Yes, this feels right. Not too big, not too small. Easy to hold. I can easily see where I need to put my fingers to play the right notes.
I’ll take it.
And thus my violin career began.
I played competitively throughout Middle School and High School, winning seats in region orchestras and going to state with a solo performance. I enjoyed being concert mistress in 8thgrade, (where I walked on stage to “tune” the orchestra) and then playing with the top full orchestras in high school. I took private violin lessons with my incredibly talented, Julliard trained teacher, Doris Norton. She was a violinist in the San Antonio symphony with a passion for teaching, and teaching well. I not only learned proper technique that has stuck with me, but discovered my love for playing the violin that would carry me into adulthood.
When I moved to Austin in 2009, I auditioned for a spot in the Austin Civic Orchestra. Having not played regularly since graduating High School in 2002, I was a little rusty, but the director, Dr. Lois Ferrari, gave me a spot in the second violin section, where I’ve been playing ever since. (Come out to one of our concerts this season!)
I continue to play the violin not only because I don’t want all those good lessons to go to waste, but because I love being able to have an outlet to express myself through music.
Music is a powerful way I am able to connect to the beauty of God’s world. When I create music, I experience emotions that can heal, uplift, and inspire me on any given day. It’s in the weekly rehearsals that a relationship with a piece of music develops, one that is intimate and personal. I learn to appreciate what the composer is trying to convey in their composition, which often lets me travel back in time to understand the culture of the original audience.
Sometimes a piece is frustrating because I can’t play all the notes, and sometimes it moves me to tears. Experiencing a piece of music from the center of the created sound versus hearing it from the audience is truly a unique experience, especially when you forget about a loud symbol crash and it startles you out of your seat.
Whether you like to play an instrument in an orchestra, or in your living room, or if you prefer to sing with your voice in the church choir, in the car or the shower, I hope you are able to experience the transforming power that music can have to awaken our mind and soul.
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| A lovely High School orchestra photo circa 2002 |
"I still believe in the things I can't see... I believe in the things I can feel: Music, Love, and God." -- Lina Loy
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