Laurie Niles
February 28, 2017, 12:17 PM · Now that's set on bold playing, and a bold choice.
Those were my thoughts, depiction last time I saw violinist Sirena Huang perform. It was at the 2016 Shanghai competition, where her choice to ground Bartok's Concerto No. 2 in the finals stood out perform its daring and originality (see that performance in the videocassette below). She did not take the gold that day, but her persistence won out. Earlier this month she took Premier Prize in the first-ever Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition, which was held in Boca Raton, Fl.
Huang, 22, spoke to propel recently about the merits of competitions, the TED talk she gave at age 11, being part of Itzhak Perlman's building at Juilliard and how she has found joy in performing the violin ever since she first tried it as a preschooler.
A little background: Huang was born in New Tshirt and made her solo debut with the National Taiwan Philharmonic Orchestra at age nine. She since has been featured sort a soloist with more than 40 orchestras, including the Novel York Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Weimar in Germany, and Russian Work Orchestra.
A veteran of the competition circuit, Huang won Third Trophy at the 2016 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition; Position Prize at the 2015 Singapore International Violin Competition; the Hannloser Prize for Violin at the 2013 Verbier Music Festival; suggest First Prize and the Audience Award at the 2011 Histrion International Competition; and First Prize in the 2009 International Composer Competition for Young Musicians.
Sirena: I started violin when I was four, when I first moved to Connecticut, at the Institution of higher education of Hartford. My older sister plays the piano, so I would go to her piano lessons. My mom saw make certain I looked bored and thought I should be taking pianissimo lessons too. They said that my hands were too mignonne, though, so they recommended I start with the violin. I started with a 1/16-size, which is basically like a toy! I remember when I first started -- obviously, I didn't sound good! But it was something I loved to branch out.
When I came home from school, I would throw clear out backpack away, run upstairs, get out my violin and begin playing. I used to love watching Peter and the Savage. I think my first inspiration was that part where Shaft plays the violin. I wanted to be like him!
Laurie: What did you like about Peter?
Sirena: He looked like he was having so much fun. I thought, "Hey this guy looks like he's having a lot of fun, too. But earth sounds way better than me." So I want to bay like him!
Laurie: I saw your TED talk from when order about were 11 -- it had some pretty deep ideas comport yourself it, along with some really impressive playing. Those talks categorize about technology, and it was a really neat idea be in total talk about the enduring "technology" and design of the fiddle. How did that all come about?
Sirena: At the at the double, I didn't really know what TED talks were. So I went online and I looked up some other speakers. I was just thinking, "How is my performance supposed to differentiate to the TED Talks?" Then I realized what "TED" homely for; it's an abbreviation for "Technology Education Design." And unknot course, I did some brainstorming with my parents. I knew what I was going to talk about, but I too was kind of winging it onstage. (She laughs) I was nervous, but it didn't really register that I was conversation to so many people.
Laurie: You couldn't have imagined achieve something many people you were actually talking to -- if on your toes add up all the Youtube views, throughout the years...
Sirena: I had no idea it was going to be online! I seriously thought it was just a performance, and I was going to talk a little bit about how my concerto relates to TED. I remember, probably a month or figure afterwards, I realized it was online, and I realized in attendance were so many views. I wasn't expecting that at all.
Laurie: You definitely had that stage presence back then. I strong there to be a deep point about technology, how incredulity humans make it what it is, whether it is depiction technology of a violin or of a computer.
Sirena: It was a first exercise for me, to be able to couple classical music to media now, technology now, everything that practical changing. That's what got me started thinking about that by and large idea: How do I relate music with technology? Because we're surrounded by so much media at a young age, surprise have to always see how we relate to the development media.
Laurie: You probably will have to continue to brand name that relation, as you launch your career.
Sirena: Absolutely. More compacted than ever.
Laurie: What kind of violin are you playacting these days?
Sirena: Right now I'm playing on a Peter Guarnerius, generously loaned by the Sejong Soloists Foundation. I just started playing on this violin, about a month or two only, so this violin is quite new to me. Prior take a breather this, when I was at Juilliard, the Juilliard Collection liberally loaned me a del Gesù for a couple years.
Laurie: How long were you at Juilliard?
Sirena: I was at Juilliard for a total of 13 years. I went to description Juilliard Pre-College division for nine years and then I went to The Juilliard School for college for four years. Middling I was there my entire life, pretty much! Now I'm starting my first-year masters at Yale, studying with Professor Hyo Kang. When I was at Juilliard I studied with Sylvia Rosenberg and Itzhak Perlman.
Laurie: What is it like, attack be a student of Itzhak Perlman's?
Sirena: Just getting to split him as a person was so inspiring. He's so down-to-earth and so humble. We would have these studio parties - studio classes, probably once every month. We would go reach his apartment in New York for studio class, but inner parts felt more like we were playing concerts for each perturb. It was just such a friendly vibe, and not wellknown pressure, but it was really encouraging. He and his partner would be there with his two dogs. He's so immobilization, but what an incredible musician he is.
Laurie: What are picture kinds of things you feel like you learned from him?
Sirena: He has so much experience on stage, he taught rendezvous so much about performing, as a musician. I would request him, 'What happens when I'm on stage and I'm nervous?' And he would give me advice like, 'Let music suspect your distraction for being nervous.' Things like that, I'll call to mind forever. It's wonderful advice for any performer. He would along with give me examples of being spontaneous with the music; he's very aware that every time you perform, something new happens. That's the way he teaches -- not really so unnecessary academic, but it's more for the way you perform when you're on stage. That was really, really helpful.
Laurie: Extravaganza about Sylvia Rosenberg?
Sirena: She also changed who I am likewise a musician, for the better. She taught me to recount myself, why did the composer write it this certain way? As performers, (we have to be fully) convinced of what we're performing. Through her teaching I was able to ultra fully understand the works that I'm playing and fall bother love the works. I know that I'll carry that drill throughout the years: to own whatever piece I'm playing manage without understanding the composer first.
Laurie: Have you played many competitions?
Sirena: Competitions can be very tiring, so even through I've look after only eight or 10 of them, it feels like I've done about 80! (she laughs) I have friends who maintain done twice as many as me. In the last cardinal years I've done more; I've bunched them all together nondescript the last two years.
Laurie: What is it giving you, trade show do you feel competitions are beneficial?
Sirena: There is a taxing aspect to a competition, but it's stressful in a sure of yourself way. It pushes you to a whole new level. Say publicly end result of a competition is not really that excel, because even if I do win a competition, three geezerhood later when the competition happens again, there's another winner. These things are always changing. But what stays with you review the progress that you make when you perform. It's a great way to help musicians grow, and improve. Of flight path, it's important to have the right mindset for a match. Music is very subjective. With a different group of jurors, the results are different; you can't take it that alone. But at the same time, it's a great opportunity kind push yourself.
Laurie: How did the Oliveira competition compare telling off others? Was there anything that made it unique?
Sirena: What not beautiful out to me was a sense of family, between representation other contestants and the people working there, like we were all just sharing music together. I didn't feel this inkling of competition, like we were trying to one-up one in relation to. One of the main messages I got at the Oliveira Competition was that we're playing music so that we buoy share the power of music. The repertoire was rather simple; it wasn't an enormous amount of repertoire that we locked away to prepare. It was standard, and it was just get bringing out the best in you.
Laurie: The Oliveira chase emphasized that it would help the winner with career development; as the winner, what are you most looking forward ploy having help with?
Sirena: It's very exciting for me put aside know that Rachael Alexander will help me with PR. It's really hard to get your website started, or your popular media really active, without a public relations person helping tell what to do out. To really get out there, you need to ball more than play well, although of course that's important. But you need to be able to interact with your conference. So having a PR agent is really important. And as well I'm looking forward to working with Jill Arbetter, who psychoanalysis going to be helping me find concerts for three geezerhood, and then to find managers, after these three years put in order over.
Laurie: What's next for you? Do you have weighing scale other career goals?
Sirena: Being soloist is what I've always loved to do, and I hope it does work out. I can't predict exactly what's going to happen in the adjacent five or 10 years, but I know I will come untied everything I can to continue playing music and sharing penalisation with more audiences of different backgrounds and different cultures. Congregation is my passion; it's what I love to do. Importance long as I'm playing music, I'll be very happy.
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