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When I was 11 years old, studying violin at INTEMPO, I listened to a recording of Hilary Hahn playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto. Before that, I wasn’t super dedicated to music. I was more focused on dance. But hearing Hahn capture emotion and make her audience feel something — that really inspired me to be able to play like that, too. My grandpa really wanted me to play the charango for his 80th birthday, which is why I started learning it at INTEMPO when I was six. Because I’m Peruvian, the charango is part of my culture. It’s a really good foundation for the violin, even though they’re extremely different instruments that challenge you to express music in different ways. Two summers ago, I participated in the YOLA National Festival in California, which was amazing, especially meeting Dudamel. Last year, I performed Wieniawski’s Légende with Orchestra Lumos — my first time soloing with an orchestra. I was really nervous, but I really liked it. I also toured Salzburg, Vienna, and Prague with the Norwalk Youth Symphony. Recently, I had just finished Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, and my INTEMPO violin teacher Darwin Shen let me pick a piece this time. And I said I wanted to do the Sibelius. Since then, I’ve had my ups and downs with it, but I love it. In December, I premiered the third movement at INTEMPO’s winter recital. That was the first super difficult piece that I’ve played for a recital, not to mention the significance of it being the piece that made me fall in love with the violin. I want to perform it again once I improve it.

Emily Soraluz, INTEMPO student of 10 years and junior at Stamford High School.