As a first post, I thought I’d start with the hobby that has been most important to me in adulthood – the violin and classical music!

Like any self-respecting Asian parents, mine forced me to start taking violin lessons at age 7. Boy I hated it. My mean Russian teacher stressed me out but not enough to motivate me to practice more than 10 minutes a week right before each lesson. As soon as my parents decided I was old enough to make my own decisions regarding stuff like this, I quit (age 16). I think I always loved the music, even if I didn’t realize it back then. It’s just I had other interests as a kid – video games, sports, being a moody teenager.

Fast forward 8 years – I’m 24, working, and looking for social hobbies. I have the brilliant idea to meet people in a community orchestra ;). I audition and fail for one. I audition for another and get in. I meet cool people, play for a year or two, and eventually become dissatisfied with my own abilities.

I start taking lessons of my own accord and with my own dime (gasp!). Ilkka and Marjorie Talvi are great. Ilkka used to be concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony, and Marjorie used to play with the opera. Both are amazing players, but more importantly, they are gifted teachers who also know how to deal with adults. It took a while, but before I knew it, I was practicing quite a lot and realized this had become my primary hobby.

In 2015, I commissioned a new violin from David Wiebe, a violinmaker based in New York. I christened the instrument Clara =). More on her in a future post, but here’s one of her good angles!

And on to now. I’ve worked with Ilkka for almost 10 years and covered a tremendous amount of rep!

I’ve played in many settings – lessons, orchestras, musical pits, recitals, chamber music parties. And I can’t imagine my life without it all!