- On March 29th,
four Wisconsin high school students
will take the stage here at Overture Hall in Madison.
They're vying for top honors in the Madison Symphony Orchestra's
Bolz Young Artist Competition.
These young musicians are
violinist Yaoyao Chen,
harpist Naomi Sutherland,
pianist Michael Wu,
and violinist Julian Rhee.
You'll see them perform during our broadcast
Wisconsin Young Artists Compete The Final Forte
- But before you hear them play,
we thought you'd enjoy hearing them talk,
about themselves, their love of music...
- And what led them, ultimately, to this stage.
♪ ♪
- My name's Yaoyao Chen.
I am 18 years old.
I go to Xavier High School.
I started playing the violin when I was six years old.
I was born in Zhanjiang, China.
It was my idea that I would like to go to school in the US
for high school.
My parents were pretty shocked in the beginning,
because it's definitely pretty hard
to be overseas by myself
but they supported my decision.
The hardest part when I first came was definitely language.
I cried a lot because I miss my family so much.
After that, I got busy
with school work and with violin stuff and it got better.
I like to cook in my free time.
I miss food from home in China.
Sometimes it's really hard to get the same kind of food,
so I like to cook.
I am member of Hawkswing at my High School.
Hawkswing is a show choir.
I like to sing because it really helps me with my violin playing.
When I was in seventh grade,
I met my current teacher, Professor Wen-Lei Gu in China.
For me she's really inspiring.
She uses a lot of imagery.
She'll compare what we do in the music to real life
so it made it a lot easier
to understand and to express my emotions.
- Yes! I felt that power, that inner power.
- I will be playing the first movement of
"Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor."
I chose that piece because the contrasting elements.
In addition to coldness,
you can also see a fire in the music.
In the future I really would like to be a teacher.
I want to pass on what I have learned to the next generation
and teach them what music can do to their life.
Music is a way to really express yourself
other than language.
You can show your emotions, your characteristics
through music
without saying a word.
♪ ♪