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- My name is Sophia Jiang
and I'm a freshman at James Madison Memorial High School.
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I started piano when I was about four years old.
I just loved watching the little hammers, like,
tinker the strings.
I thought it was just the coolest thing ever.
I have a very musical family.
Both me and my sister play the piano and the violin.
I kind of became passionate
after watching her play on the stage.
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I did play with the Madison Symphony once
as the winner of the Fall Youth Concerto competition,
and that was one of the greatest moments of my life.
I loved being on the big stage
with a lot of young people in the audience.
It pulled my heartstrings a lot.
I study with Mr. Bill Lutes.
He is such a wonderful person and a wonderful teacher.
He's always telling me the stories of the composers
and the history of the music.
And it really helps me better understand the piece
that I'm playing.
I also participate in WYSO.
I started as a student in Sinfonietta.
So I was lucky enough to be the concertmaster
for one of the concerts.
And I also was fortunate enough
to be able to play this beautiful solo.
I'm a freshman and we have been doing virtual school all year.
We're kind of pulling through it.
Clubs are also virtual.
I am a part of the school newspaper.
I also like to participate in my school's volunteer program.
I just love volunteering.
It's such a fun thing to do
and it really opens your eyes up to the world.
During these difficult times,
my sister and I are very, very excited
to be able to share music with everybody watching at home.
It's such an honor to be able to do that.
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