Audrey Lee (Violin) – Los Angeles Branch
La Canada High (Class of 2021)
Despite the Corona Pandemic, the Love In Music (LM) Los Angeles Branch has been nothing less than active. Working in collaboration with the other branches of Love in Music, the LA Branch’s teachers and students, with the help of Gloria Lee, Executive Director of Love in Music, were able to keep its mission going. Moving to online lessons, Love in Music has been able to give hope to many students and teachers who do not have the opportunities to experience music in their own communities the option to get a close-knit and safe musical experience.
As a high schooler, seeing students who had a raw love for music grow both musically and academically has been such an honor. Experiencing both of my students slowly developing a stronger passion for music has been so evident through each performance. Their delicate fingers placed on each string with caution, the small shoulders tensing up on every note, the hands stretched out to reach the correct intonation, the feet gripping onto the floor to maintain balance. Each tune’s melody filled the room with scratchy yet harmonious blends of sound that evoked my nostalgia.
My hands moved up and down with their bows, succumbing to a simultaneous swell of fear and pride that defined my experience as a teacher and coordinator of Love in Music, an organization dedicated to bridging communities with the power of music. The initial journey was as volatile as my emotions were while watching my students perform pieces they’ve prepared for weeks on end for the first time. Despite their love for music, when first learning the violin, the students’ ears were attuned to believing that classical music is a step away from enjoyment.
Perceived as too technical and designed for the “hoity-toity,” classical music had become an undesirable symbol of socioeconomic separation. In the musical world, classical music is seen as the foundation for all other genres, yet beyond the musical lines, it was disheartening to see it being misconceived to be antiquated. Utilizing various teaching styles that reinvented the traditional ways of learning music, I married the fundamentals of classical music with other genres, revealing classical music to be a fluid, unifying musical language. Though unexpected, my students found how powerfully the naturally embedded classical components can provide structure, opening the doors to freely elevating even the simplest melodies.
Learning from my unconventional teaching methods, my students began inspiring others around them to ignite their passion for music unconditionally. As I step into my college journey miles away from home, I can feel assured in knowing that whoever my students study with and get to know next that they will share the belief that music is a universal language — a language that can be shared and loved throughout the world.