Perseverance Pays Off

STUDENT MUSICIANS IN PURSUIT OF MASTERY

→ By Megan Lee (‘23) FEATURE

In the early mornings before the school bell rings, you may hear the sound of a violin above the chatter of student activity in the high school mall. The violinist is sophomore Tobi Watanabe, and you will find him practicing his music among the chaos of students socializing before the start of the school day.

Watanabe began playing the violin when he was three years old. Little did he know, he would continue playing for twelve and a half more years.

Music is no foreigner in the Watanabe family. His grandpa is the former band conductor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and his mother is a violinist. It was Watanabe’s mother who made sure he learned the violin at a young age, and it was only later in his life that he discovered a passion for it. “I found pieces that were fun to play for me and started practicing more and more,” he said.

In addition to regular private lessons, Watanabe practices around thirty minutes to one hour every day. He also performs at least once a year, and his private teachers enroll him in a local performance festival where students play their instrument and receive grades from professional judges. Watanabe also plays in the Hawaii Youth Symphony (HYS), where he has earned the first chair position in his first and second violin sections. “My favorite moment playing [the] violin was my first HYS concert as it was the first time I had played in a large, organized string orchestra, and I had a blast playing with everyone there and a few friends,’’ he said.

Like Watanabe, senior Katie Chen is also a string instrument musician. Chen began playing the guzheng when she was six years old after hearing her music teacher at Chinese school perform. “I thought the music sounded so beautiful, so I asked her to teach me,” she said. “I still play because it’s a way for me to feel connected to my culture, and not many know how to play traditional instruments since they aren’t as mainstream.” The guzheng is a Chinese plucked string instrument that sounds similar to a harp.

Because the guzheng is not as common in Hawaii, Chen faced difficulties finding a teacher that not only has the ability to play the instrument but also has the availability and willingness to teach. Nonetheless, Chen still plays intermittently, currently practicing for around an hour before her weekly lessons despite busyness with school and extracurriculars. She especially enjoys “[mastering] a new technique or [memorizing] a particularly difficult line.”

Chen mainly does recitals for her teacher or entertainment at family events, but her most memorable performance was at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza during Lunar New Year several years ago. After years of playing the guzheng, Chen believes that her music has taught her to keep trying even when she makes mistakes.

Unlike Watanabe and Chen, junior Keenan Kim is a self-taught musician. Two years ago, he began to play the ukulele because he wanted an outlet to express his creativity outside of school, and he thought string instruments looked enjoyable. Kim practices for around an hour every day and occasionally performs for family and friends.

(Left) Sophomore Tobi Watanabe plays his violin in the high school mall. Taking every opportunity to practice, Watanabe often plays his violin during breaks and lunches at school. PHOTOGRAPH BY MEGAN LEE (‘23)

(Right) Recently, senior Noah Hu spent six hours recording a video of his own piano performance, which was sent to the National Guild of Piano Teachers for judging. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF NOAH HU (‘23).

“My favorite moment when playing my instrument came when I thought about how fluidly I was able to switch from one chord to the next and how soft the strings felt on my fingers,” he said. Kim appreciates how playing the ukulele has helped build his dedication, rather than “wasting [his] day through other means.” Music has also taught him the value of patience, practice, and hard work.

Senior Noah Hu started playing the piano at five years old, encouraged by his parents to follow in his older brothers’ footsteps of learning the instrument. Along with weekly lessons, Hu practices around an hour every day. He also performs in recitals organized by his teacher three to four times a year. “It’s given me a lot more discipline to do work because I have to sit at my piano and just play and practice. Especially when there are hard passages, I sometimes play one measure of music 50 times in a row without stopping,” he said.

Hu’s consistent efforts paid off, earning him both the National Guild of Piano Teachers High School Diploma and the Paderewski Medal. The High School Diploma presented by the American College of Musicians requires students to perform a repertoire of music and receive a passing evaluation based on technique and overall competence. The Paderewski Medal is an achievement given to a musician who plays and masters 10 piano pieces for 10 years. Hu was recently awarded a $500 music scholarship because of these two recognitions. Despite playing music that requires specific parameters, Hu still enjoys the musical freedom of certain pieces like George Gershwin’s jazzy “Rhapsody in Blue” rather than Johann Sebastian Bach’s classical fugues. “I really like how once you learn a piece you can put your own spin on it. You can play with the expression of the music,” he said.

Hu’s most memorable moment playing the piano was during a recent recital. “I made my teacher cry, which has never happened before. The piece was called ‘Liebestraum,’ and it’s slow at the very end and has a lot of slow chords,” he explained. “I think she thought it was really nice—the way I was playing. I’ve been her student for so long, so I think she was proud of how far I’ve come.” Hu hopes to continue his musical pursuits in college by minoring in piano. All of these student musicians embrace a common experience; they have worked diligently to master their instrument, and they continue to strive for further improvement. Watanabe summed up a sentiment shared by them. He said, “Playing [the] violin has improved my learning and patience skills, as well as teaching me an important lesson, that sometimes, even if we don’t like something, we have to learn to love it as time passes.”

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