As a first-generation Chinese American growing up in Southern California, I am often stuck with the stereotype of being a math genius, piano prodigy, and community service extraordinaire. These stereotypes aren’t completely false, but I can safely say that I am not a piano prodigy. Despite being placed into piano lessons at the ripe age of 4-years-old, there was something about the coordination I couldn’t quite understand. This obviously frustrated me, but I continued to play daily until I was 7-years-old, occasionally reviving my acquired skills in my free time now.
Classical music has been pushed upon me ever since I was a child. I played the piano for three years, violin for four, and have been playing the flute for the past eight years. At one point, I played all three simultaneously. I even picked up the cello and drums from my brother’s years of playing, and am now playing the piccolo as well. It is no secret that I am in a very musically oriented family, and I absolutely despised that. I always wondered why we had to play in a quartet, instead of being a normal family and watching Sunday Night Football. But as I matured both as a person and as a musician, I found a newly acquired appreciation for an art I used to loathe.
Some of my best memories included my dad blasting Classical KUSC/91.5 FM in the car with my family after dinner. At the time, I questioned why we couldn’t listen to the newest hits on radio stations such as 102.7 KIIS FM, but I never objected. I secretly enjoyed listening to Tchaikovsky’s Overtures, Beethoven’s Symphonies, Chopin’s Nocturnes, and Mozart’s Operas. Claude Debussy was a staple to our conversations, while we all quieted down to hear Franz Schubert’s chamber music. My siblings and I would all tease my dad for his love for classical music, especially when he would play it from our living room speakers. We woke up to classical music, watched TV with classical music in the background, and went to bed with faint classical music serenading us to sleep.
For years I wondered: what is so special about classical music? I didn’t completely understand the appeal as a child, I just knew that I enjoyed listening to it. I absolutely hated practicing my instruments, and could not imagine spending years writing an opera aria. Of course, I would rather listen to rappers such as Drake, or artists such as Frank Ocean and Daniel Caesar. But I have since focused on the wind aspect of classical music, prioritizing my endeavors as a flutist.
I went from detesting practice to tolerating it, and from toleration to enjoyment. I realized that not only was classical music the backbone to my fondest memories as a child, but that I actually had no reason to dislike classical music. Sure, it’s not trending or perceived as interesting, but I now understand that there is no need to jump on the bandwagon of hating classical music. Because of this realization, I have been exposed to a multitude of new experiences. I was invited to play in New York City’s Carnegie Hall three times as a soloist, won multiple international competitions, will be returning to New York this spring, and am performing in major cities across Italy this upcoming summer.
To classical music, thank you for shaping my childhood, allowing me to travel the world, and giving me a sense of identity. You have introduced me to a world that communicates so much yet says so little. I would not be who I am today without it.
