I can’t really explain to someone my exact reasoning for why I chose to play the cello. It always seems silly to respond with “I wanted to play the Jaws theme,” but I had to begin somewhere. Throughout my middle school years, I was not very enthusiastic about orchestra or cello. However, upon reaching high school, my entire outlook on music changed with the first piece I’d ever played with a symphony: “The Moldau” by Bedřich Smetana.
I’d never experienced music like “The Moldau," which Smetana wrote in order to illustrate a scene in Russia where two small streams of water merge into a great river. I found myself wholeheartedly fascinated by the piece the first time I played it, because the music portrayed the scene so vividly that I could actually visualize the river and everything else around it just by listening. Once the sweeping melody of the piece reached my ears, I knew that I wanted to follow the Moldau into the rushing rapids of music. Like the small trickle of water from the spring, I now felt myself being swept away by the music and everything it had to offer me.
Still traveling down my musical river, I could feel myself changing drastically. As I began to express myself musically, I learned to express myself verbally as well. Before high school, my very shy personality often got in the way of normal social interactions. I still blame this partially on the reason that I had not fully recovered from a certain incident in the third grade where I completely froze during my first student government speech. Although joining my high school’s most advanced orchestra may have been one of the most frightening decisions I had ever made at the time, I am now extremely thankful that I seized the opportunity. My director appointed me principal cellist, which drove me to learn how to lead the cello section as well as the entire orchestra. As if to test my new found abilities, the orchestra director chose an orchestral work that few high schools dared to play.
Simply entitled “Rounds” by David Diamond, the song consisted of strange harmonies and complex rhythms that many of my peers and I had never encountered before. Having just learned what an eighth note was, I found it extremely difficult to understand the concepts of hemiolas or klangfarbenmelodies. Nevertheless, the orchestra never backed down from a challenge, which compelled all of us to join forces and put together a very multifaceted musical puzzle. This piece still holds a special place in my memory because it helped me uncover a part of myself, which I would never have discovered without the chance to communicate and lead within an orchestra. I feel as if the intricate harmonies and rhythms of music mirror situations that I encounter outside of the orchestral world, and because of my experience in an orchestra, I now have the confidence to face and conquer them.
While music has granted me new leadership skills and life-long relationships, I have always believed the greatest gift music has ever given me is that of a better understanding for human emotions. I certainly never would have thought I would develop such awareness through a tune that I often ignored because of its overplayed reputation. Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” from his ninth symphony never impressed me much during my earliest years in music. In fact, it seemed so cliché after a while, I would often cringe upon hearing my sister play it on her toy violin. However, I had the opportunity to hear the entire symphony performed at a music festival, and it was then that I realized the true genius behind Beethoven’s basic yet famous melody. The last movement proved to be so powerful that it reduced the audience and I to tears. As the piece came to its triumphant and powerful end, I realized that this masterpiece was, like so many others, trapped in time. It remains eternal and can still evoke the same feelings of joy into the hearts of all who hear it.
I believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience the “Ode to Joy” – chorus and all – so that they can have the chance to let the music transform them. As a musician, I want to inspire someone else to take a ride down the Moldau in Russia. I want to see a quiet girl transform into a determined and confident woman. I want to unify a crowd of complete strangers through the beauty and glory of a single melody. My musical journey is still building my character as a strong and thoughtful person, and I know that through music, I will be able to encourage others to start a symphonic journey of their own. Music allows us to extend our souls to the rest of the world without leaving the music hall. All we need to do is listen.
I’d never experienced music like “The Moldau," which Smetana wrote in order to illustrate a scene in Russia where two small streams of water merge into a great river. I found myself wholeheartedly fascinated by the piece the first time I played it, because the music portrayed the scene so vividly that I could actually visualize the river and everything else around it just by listening. Once the sweeping melody of the piece reached my ears, I knew that I wanted to follow the Moldau into the rushing rapids of music. Like the small trickle of water from the spring, I now felt myself being swept away by the music and everything it had to offer me.
Still traveling down my musical river, I could feel myself changing drastically. As I began to express myself musically, I learned to express myself verbally as well. Before high school, my very shy personality often got in the way of normal social interactions. I still blame this partially on the reason that I had not fully recovered from a certain incident in the third grade where I completely froze during my first student government speech. Although joining my high school’s most advanced orchestra may have been one of the most frightening decisions I had ever made at the time, I am now extremely thankful that I seized the opportunity. My director appointed me principal cellist, which drove me to learn how to lead the cello section as well as the entire orchestra. As if to test my new found abilities, the orchestra director chose an orchestral work that few high schools dared to play.
Simply entitled “Rounds” by David Diamond, the song consisted of strange harmonies and complex rhythms that many of my peers and I had never encountered before. Having just learned what an eighth note was, I found it extremely difficult to understand the concepts of hemiolas or klangfarbenmelodies. Nevertheless, the orchestra never backed down from a challenge, which compelled all of us to join forces and put together a very multifaceted musical puzzle. This piece still holds a special place in my memory because it helped me uncover a part of myself, which I would never have discovered without the chance to communicate and lead within an orchestra. I feel as if the intricate harmonies and rhythms of music mirror situations that I encounter outside of the orchestral world, and because of my experience in an orchestra, I now have the confidence to face and conquer them.
While music has granted me new leadership skills and life-long relationships, I have always believed the greatest gift music has ever given me is that of a better understanding for human emotions. I certainly never would have thought I would develop such awareness through a tune that I often ignored because of its overplayed reputation. Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” from his ninth symphony never impressed me much during my earliest years in music. In fact, it seemed so cliché after a while, I would often cringe upon hearing my sister play it on her toy violin. However, I had the opportunity to hear the entire symphony performed at a music festival, and it was then that I realized the true genius behind Beethoven’s basic yet famous melody. The last movement proved to be so powerful that it reduced the audience and I to tears. As the piece came to its triumphant and powerful end, I realized that this masterpiece was, like so many others, trapped in time. It remains eternal and can still evoke the same feelings of joy into the hearts of all who hear it.
I believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience the “Ode to Joy” – chorus and all – so that they can have the chance to let the music transform them. As a musician, I want to inspire someone else to take a ride down the Moldau in Russia. I want to see a quiet girl transform into a determined and confident woman. I want to unify a crowd of complete strangers through the beauty and glory of a single melody. My musical journey is still building my character as a strong and thoughtful person, and I know that through music, I will be able to encourage others to start a symphonic journey of their own. Music allows us to extend our souls to the rest of the world without leaving the music hall. All we need to do is listen.