Myongsun Kim

Since I was little, I learned piano and violin but not out of passion. When I got enthusiastic about music was when I migrated in to the United States and joined the Philharmonic Orchestra of the James Bowie high school. Orchestra was my relief from the language barrier I had to go through daily. I still had to communicate with the orchestra classmate through English, but soon I learned that my instrument can express so much for myself. And that passion led me to continue playing violin in the A&M orchestra, and play solo in "the Queen Bee" in 2019 Fall Concert!

 

Orchestra indeed gave me a lot of life lessons. 

​

Practice, Practice, Practice

​

First and most important value orchestra re-emphasize with me was the virtue of diligence and commitment. With instruments, skipping a day's practice push you back a week's progress. It is indeed a hard process to practice same melody again and again, but the more work I put in to practice slowly, the faster and the more accurate I can play. Because I had not laid a finger on my violin for 2 years when I started out in the philharmonic orchestra, I had to ask myself way more practice times than others. As a result, I started as the last chair of the second violin, but I diligently moved my way up to the first chair of the second violins, and then the first violins of the Symphony orchestra, through daily practice and commitment. This experience gave me the confidence that anything can be achieved if I put in the right amount of work in it, either musically or academically. But what mattered more than the competition to sit on the higher chair was the spiritual experience that orchestra provides. 

​

Working With People

​

Making music is hard. Making music is hard not only because of the technical aspects but also because of the interpersonal aspects. I love to describe orchestra as a group project (that everyone dreads), but with more than fifty people. It is very easy to get frustrated with fellow players, because we all have different situations that allows for different amount of practice and experience. But the moments come when we all play together and I can feel that we are all connected to each other musically and spiritually. My favorite moments are, indeed, the beginning of a piece. The director deeply breathes in, and we all breathe in together to get ready for the first beat. 

​

COVID and Forward

​

When the 2020 Spring Break came Orchestra was moved to a virtual class. 

In Fall 2020, Orchestra began in-person rehearsals but in a very unfamiliar conditions; all the stands and chairs were six feet away from each other, and we had to keep our masks on while playing. I could not hear anyone but myself!