Eastman Personal Statement

The role of the conductor is a unique one. You are called upon to be the leader of

orchestra, the musical authority, the interpreter, and the coach. At the same time, you

are also the collaborator, the bridge between the musicians and the composers as well

as the bridge between the musicians themselves. A conductor wears many hats and I

believe that at the Eastman School of Music, I can have the most success learning to

master these different hats.

My professional goal is to be a music director of a symphony orchestra and to be able

to each day work and mold an orchestra to become its very best. To me, it doesn’t

matter as much as to the level of the orchestra, but more importantly my access to

them as well as appropriate amount of time to work with said orchestra. However,

while many can dream of conducting a big city’s symphony orchestra, I would happy if

I simply had an orchestra who is as passionate about serving the music as much as I

am.

I see myself pursuing the traditional path of a young conductor with a couple assistant

conducting positions at first before getting my first main Music Directorship gig later

down the road. During that timeframe, I would like to explore my passions of education

with not only doing assistantships at a symphony but also perhaps leading a youth

orchestra as well. I have been teaching cello privately since high school and I do not

wish to give that up and I believe the things I learn from teaching students privately will
help me as a youth orchestra director which also will then ultimately help me grow as a

conductor.

I know that this specific path in an already difficult field is competitive and often

discouraging. However, I believe we are currently in a critical turning point for classical

music. I feel often there is a strong divide, especially within my peers, musicians my

age, between those who are more forward thinking and those who delve and

concentrate on tradition. I can see myself and other young conductors my age having

to face the struggle of what is often described as a dying industry. I do plan on merging

the two scopes and finding the bridge between a more traditional approach to classical

music and the necessity of playing and performing new music.

To me, that is the ultimate and most important hat the conductor wears. It is to serve

the music that you’re playing but on a more macro level, serve the music in general and

to guide what is classical music today. Too many people think it is okay to have an all

Beethoven season and have no representation from living composers or composers of

cultural minorities, yet at the same time the flip side is also not okay, where people

claim that classical music is better off without playing Beethoven or Brahms ever.

With a dying industry at a crucial turning point, I would like to lead as a conductor, the

future of classical music, an industry that celebrates culture and the love of humanity,

with a forward thinking, yet retrospective mind. Growing up an immigrant child, I

struggled with being bullied for not being able to speak English. I struggled with
assimilating into the American and Western cultures. Then further on in my life I

struggled with accepting my identity as Asian-American because I always thought as

an immigrant I would need to get rid of my previous culture in order to be a “real

American.” But one thing throughout stayed constant - I was always able to connect

with people on a musical level. No matter where in the world I was, I was always able

communicate through music and that was especially shown in 2016 when I had the

opportunity to play in the Shanghai International Youth Orchestra where the orchestra

consisted of young professionals from all around the world. While we all spoke different

languages and rehearsals were conducted in both English and French, we made some

incredible music. That to me is what music should be able and at Eastman, a school

that has such diversity and international standing, I believe I can cultivate my roles as a

conductor as well transcend cultures and cultural differences through music.