Senior Spotlight 2023: From Church Street to North Bennet Street School

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The next installment in our Senior Spotlight series, we caught up with Isa Bazan and Abby Lee (pictured above). These violinists had a lot to say about their time in the VYOA. We talked about $10 grilled cheeses, picking up new instruments, and their exciting new adventures in the arts!

What are your favorite memories of being in VYOA?

Isa
I know immediately! It was when we did the Phantom of the Opera in VYP. That was my favorite piece we’ve ever done. We had scream auditions to see who could scream the best, and that was fun. And I’m like this is so cool.

Abby
I feel like everyone talks about being on Church Street and walking around with friends. When you’re called for rehearsal, but then there’s a big period of time before the concert, you just get to just hang out.

Isa
Go get a $10 grilled cheese.

Abby
Oh, my God. Yeah, that was not worth $10.

Isa
It was just cheese and bread. It was not worth $10. And then a bag with three chips in it.

Abby
So, I feel like there’s different groups that form, during breaks and stuff. And sometimes when we’re on Church Street, they shuffle a little bit more there. It was mostly like the groups I usually sit with during breaks and then Isa came, and a couple other people just like joined us walking around.

Isa
It’s fun to chat with people that you don’t normally chat with, all because we’re all going to the same place. We might as well walk together and chat. It’s a little bit different here than at school because we have this one like obvious thing keeps us together. There’s never nothing to talk about. We all relate to something that’s happening in rehearsal.

How did you choose your instrument?

Abby
Oh, actually I wanted to play violin for a really long time, but my school didn’t offer it. I saw Natalie McMaster at the Highland Games and she has many children and they all like dance in their little clogs and play the fiddle. That’s when I started wanting to play. But then my school didn’t offer it.

Later, I went and saw the Accidentals, and they did a lot of incorporating violin and cello. The band had a drummer, a cellist, and a violinist. They had electric violins and they were doing all this crazy stuff and I thought, “maybe I should try and pick this up again because it seems cool” and then I picked it up in 8th grade.

Isa
I wanted to play viola and they didn’t have any in my size because I was like two-feet tall and had little tiny baby fingers. And so they gave me violin. Seven years later, yeah, still going strong. The way I approached music is that…I like music. So, over the years, I’ve kind of just added new instruments on.

Abby
Yeah, picking up new instruments is fun! Yeah, I wanted to learn how to play bass clarinet and our teacher, Ms. Trutor said, “well, only if you plan to play in an ensemble.”

Isa
That’s what I did for flute. I asked our band teacher, “I’m bored, can I have a flute?”

What role do you think music or do you hope that music will play in your life for you where you’re going?

Abby
Well, I’m going to trade school in Boston to learn to make violins at North Bennett Street School. When I’ve been talking to the person who runs the program over there, he’s like…not all of us are musicians. It’s not really that musicianship world that we have been in, but in in my mind, it’s still very connected to that musical community. I’m really excited about that.

Isa
I’m gonna go to school in Illinois, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign for costume design. I’ve been a dancer for my whole life. And then like just recently, I got into making dance costumes, and that’s what I’m going to school for. So I could take on a different role supporting role.

What would you tell your younger self as they prepare to attend their very first rehearsal?

Isa
I remember when I got started I really only talked to like people I knew before I was in VYOA. I only talked to like Lily Wong and like people that I knew through school. I didn’t know it then, but what I would tell my younger self is: “you’re gonna know them for the next six years. You’re gonna grow up with these people, basically. Talk to people more and don’t sit in the corner.”

Abby
And you don’t have to only talk to people in your section. There are some really cool people who play other instruments. Talk to someone on the other side of the orchestra.

How has it surprised you? Is being in VYOA different than you expected it would be?

Isa
I didn’t have a lot of expectations coming in. I was just so nervous about, like being here in general and like being like a nervous kid and like talking to people and like playing in front of people rather than like alone with my teacher. It’s definitely helped me come out of my shell, I guess I’ll say because that’s kind of cheesy, but I don’t think I’d be the person that I am without music in general and without the VYO.

Abby
Something I feel like I’ve learned over the past, like couple of years is that just have conversations with your conductor. They always know each of the students, but they don’t always get to have a conversation with each single one of us. Individual time is limited. And so that’s something that I feel like I’ve made a couple of connections with my conductors specifically. Last year, I kept running into Dr. Kono everywhere. At the euphonium and tuba quartet concert, he was so surprised to see me and he thanked me for coming. I was doing my internship at Vermont Violins and he ran into me there, too. I feel like that connection kind of grew from that. I feel like they do want to know each of us individually, but they do not always have the opportunity. If you kind of put yourself out there, it’s nice to have that connection

Senior Spotlight 2023: Growing Up VYOA

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The faces in this picture are probably familiar. We’ve used their picture a few times, on the website, in printed materials, and in programs. These four smiling faces – left to right, Maddie Connery, Marisa Kono, Miles Glover, and Sam Kunin – are graduating, and we caught up with them to talk about all of the ways orchestra has impacted their lives. These four have had a long friendship – so we had a lot of laughs when we talked after rehearsal.

How did you choose your instrument?

Sam
I played the cello because I wanted to get out of my piano lessons. And also I always thought it sounded and looked cool. My grandparents were always taking me to concerts, and that was always the instrument that stood out.

Miles
I play the bassoon. I originally wanted to play the cello, but I couldn’t play cello in band. I started listening to bassoon and it’s way better than cello. I also play piano, which I’ve been playing for like 11 years.

Marisa
I played the violin because that’s what my parents wanted me to play, and it’s what my mom could teach me.

Maddie
Your dad could have taught you the tuba!

Marisa
Yeah, but you can’t learn that when you are 3 years old. I don’t have the cheeks for it.

Maddie
I play the violin. I wanted to play the harp, but my mom was like, “No, we’re not like getting you a harp to lug around everywhere.” Like, where do you even rent a harp? So they told me I could learn the harp if I learned another instrument first. Marisa had just moved into our town, and her mom was taking students. So I started taking violin lessons from Kathleen Kono when I was in second grade and Marisa was new to the school. She was the new girl in class and I was like, “Oh, I’m taking lessons from your mom.”

What are some favorite memories of the VYOA?

Sam
The green rooms go crazy, at The Flynn. There’s a lot of like, kind of frantic energy, a lot of excitement. Church Street excitement. Good memories, you know.

Miles
Yeah, my favorite memories are definitely the Reveille camps.

Sam
At camp, I jumped off, like…

Marisa
The building!

Sam
Yeah, that’s pretty good one. I was climbing a building and then I jumped. And….I tumbled…

Maddie
He didn’t jump that high.

Sam
It was like a solid 6 feet!

Marisa
It wasn’t. Sam probably got yelled at for this.

Sam
More importantly remember, we were eating lunch on the steps. There are random people that just kind of come up and just start talking. Sometimes you hear some really strange things and sometimes you hear some really interesting things, and there’s just a lot of stories and a lot of different people, different perspectives, kind of coming together to just eat. Sitting on the steps across the street, eating our lunch. And we’d spill a lot of food.

Maddie
Do you remember that we had The Amazing Race one year, and we had the bouncy house, and pool noodle fights? That was one of my favorite memories, when we were blindfolded and then they would spin you around and everyone would be around you in this giant circle. And then you would have, like a noodle fight with someone, but you’re both blindfolded. I did it when I was new; it was my first year in VYO and I was really tiny. There’s this photo of me trying to attack this big tuba player.

Sam
Yeah, it was nice cause there’s a lot of rehearsing, but at the same time, we always look forward to the extended breaks afterwards.

What has kept you coming back to music?

Sam
I guess, my parents, but that’s just on the on the surface. Below the surface I’d say that it’s very validating to stand up in front of a crowd and hear them clap, and you know why they’re clapping. It’s not about the applause, it’s about knowing why they’re applauding.

Miles
I like I personally enjoy like the emotion that everyone shares when they play really, like dramatic pieces. It’s like everything else just kind of stops and everyone’s focused on one thing. It’s a special relationship. That you don’t really get many other places, I would say.

Marisa
Yeah, I come because I just really like the sound of the whole orchestra and you just can’t get that anywhere else. In school band, you can’t get that sound of a string orchestra or a chamber group, you need this amount of people to make that sort of sound. And this is the only place you can do it.

Maddie
My mom always talks about how she loves coming to my concerts because she just thinks it’s like one of the like most pure things or one of the greatest things to watch, that so many people collectively take time out of their life to play music and make something beautiful together. I just think it’s nice that you can make that and contribute to that. Then you can also share it with your parents and people who have watched you sound terrible and go up to sounding not terrible.

Sam
I think it’s cool because like we’ve had a lot of different directors and everyone has always put a lot of effort into very carefully choosing the pieces. We always get a little bit of an explanation of the history behind the piece. These pieces have been played for dozens, if not hundreds of years. And it’s that same emotion, it’s that same feeling like regardless of what country or time it’s played in. It’s kind of cool to see that music withstands time. It’s just notes on a page, but when you play all together it just brings it back to life. When we played Romeo and Juliet, it was incredibly inspirational and influential story moved into music by some like Russian dude a couple hundred years ago. And now we’re just playing it here and now – it’s kind of crazy.

Maddie
Yeah, but then it’s also cool because we get to play pieces that are world premieres.

Sam
We’re the beginning – like when we played the premiere of Cold Mountain Suite

Maddie
It’s just interesting to see like the two sides of the spectrum. Playing music that’s so old and then also playing music that’s here today. Seeing where it comes from.

Miles
I think you also get like this really cool experience where it feels like you’re experiencing geography. As far as music, you’ll play some Russian music that’s very intense and you really feel that, or you’ll play some French music that’s very delicate like crystal.

So, what’s next for you and what role do you hope that music will play in your lives?

Sam
I think regardless of which classes we choose to take or which tracks we choose to pursue, playing in an ensemble, playing outside of your bedroom …putting your cello in a car and then going to a place and playing with other people and being vulnerable, that’s a skill that translates to any school, any country you want to live in. It’s very international, the music we play, there are always people playing these pieces. All around the world, and no matter where we are, I think there’s this ability to sit down and play music and you don’t need anything else. No matter what, we’ll always have that.

Miles
I use music as an escape. I don’t even really need to be like playing for anyone, I like to just practice piano. It’s like a daily escape from all like the chaotic nature of life. I think it’s very good for my mental health and that’s why I love it so much.

Marisa
Well, I just really enjoy working with other musicians and just people in the music world in general. So I look forward to doing that in the future, but probably on more of the administrative side.

Maddie
I’m planning on taking like lessons and maybe doing some more small group like type of work like in chamber music instead of the orchestra side of things, but I’m definitely planning on continuing to play my violin like for fun at college, but I don’t really know where it will take me in the future.

What would you tell your younger self as they prepared to attend their very first rehearsal?

Sam
I don’t know if I’m speaking for everybody else, but this happened for me. All of a sudden, as a kid, you just want to come and be here always. For a while, it’s another thing your parents make you do, but then you start to feel the music. You start to love a section, you start to connect to other people more. Man, I don’t know where that point happened exactly, but somewhere where I just said, “ohh, I’m excited for this.”

Marisa
Oh yeah, it’s kind of the same as Sam. When I was little I kind of dreaded orchestra rehearsal just because it’s just such a long time to be playing. But then I don’t know, like maybe halfway through my time at VYO, I started like wanting to come a little more and look forward to it. And I think it’s really like the group of friends that I found that make me actually come. I think it’s really important to have personal connections.

Maddie
With the violin in general, I used to just dread practicing. My teacher would give incentives to practice. She had a prize basket and if you’ve had seven days in a row of practicing you got a gift. It used to be that violin was just like this little chore.

But then I started realizing more and more that once I picked it up, I just didn’t want to put it down. I would lose track of time just like trying to make a piece perfect or trying to make it sound as good as I could. Something that surprised me was just that you’re never going to reach a point where you’re satisfied with how much you practice or how much you can like refine a piece. That’s frustrating, but it’s also so satisfying because you can always make something better, and you can always just keep polishing. Keep working on it.

Miles
I’d probably tell myself, just to be confident in what you’re doing. I used to be so timid playing bassoon. Now I just play as loud as I can and it’s just way more fun. You just you kind of own it. You have more of a role in the orchestra and that feels really good. So that’s what I would tell myself.

Anything else you want people to know?

Miles
I guess, to anyone that sees this: Play bassoon. It’s going extinct, and it’s like the greatest instrument. It’s so much fun and if you play bassoon, everyone will love you immediately. I was part of the endangered instrument program, and that’s how I got into VYOA.

Maddie
I wanna thank like, all the faces who’ve been in VYO every single time I walk in the building, who are always there, like Art, Kathleen, Ace, Mia, Myriam, and Rosina…

Sam
And Dr. Kono, Dr. Klemme, Dr. Cummings, especially Dr. Alpízar.

Maddie
Thanks for staying here and for believing in us – for devoting time to youth orchestras, because I feel like that’s such a random thing. Thanks for just spending time with us.

Senior Spotlight 2023: Bouncy Castles, T-Swift, and Aretha Franklin

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Each year, we find ways to shine a spotlight on the graduating seniors before they move on from the VYO ranks to pursue their paths in life. This year, we gathered them together in groups to have casual, relaxed conversations  about the VYOA, their instruments, what music means to them.

After rehearsal on a recent Sunday, we caught up with violist Aniela Thompson, and violinists Maddie Saunders and Annika Gruber (pictured left to right). 

What are your favorite memories of being in the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association?
Annika:
I’ve only been in the VOA since freshman year, so I don’t have as many memories and it was a little interrupted by COVID. I guess one of my favorite memories was when we had summer camp – there was kind of like a bouncy castle, obstacle-course-type thing that I remember racing other people on. I didn’t know that they would do that at the summer camp – I thought we would be playing music the whole time. I just had a lot of fun – I thought it was cool that they did that to get us more involved.
Aniela:
When we went to concerts [at The Flynn] and we’d have breaks, I would always go to the bagel place with my friends. I didn’t know we’d have time to explore Church Street and do that kind of thing. And since I’m not from around here that was really cool.
Maddie:
I remember playing Phantom of the Opera in VYP. I remember that there was a scream that had to be done and I thought that was really funny. I didn’t know actually who it was but I just heard it, like, behind me when I was playing (laughs) it surprised me there. Doctor Kono had to let the audience know that there would be a scream. But like, “don’t be alarmed, it’s OK. It’s part of the show.”
Aniela:
During COVID we had Zoom meetings where we were supposed to be playing and they would have like professional instrumentalists come and talk about their experiences, like how they practice and get ready for performances and stuff. That was cool. Like people that would be like in a whole other like continent, they would like talk and it’s really cool.

How did you choose your instrument?
Maddie:
Back when the University mall was a big thing, they used to do performances, like professional violinists, and there was one – I don’t remember his name – but I would literally sit there and watch him for hours. And my parents were just like, “OK, you can play violin.”
Annika:
I didn’t exactly choose my instrument. I used to live in Montreal and the school that I went to there, everyone started out on the violin. Then I came to Vermont and I continued with that instrument. I went to the Waldorf school in Shelburne where they require you to play an instrument, and so I stayed with violin there. I just kept playing it throughout – I had a private teacher that helped me. I think I was just interested because I was getting better. I think if I hadn’t had a teacher, I wouldn’t have maybe practiced as much or gotten better or had the motivation.
So I didn’t exactly choose the violin, but I continued with it because I felt supported. I think [playing violin] definitely taught me a lot of things about perseverance and discipline, of practicing, and also – it’s OK to get it wrong. The violin has really helped me with coordination and a lot of different things.
Aniela:
I knew I was going to play like a stringed instrument, no matter what. My mom and my aunt both played the cello and I wanted to be different. The bass was just, like, too big. I didn’t want to carry it around. I didn’t really know the viola was a thing, so I just chose violin. When I moved back to Vermont two years ago, I started viola and I just picked it up. I was in like a smaller strings program, so it was more personalized. One of my friends started Viola and she loved it. I thought, “we’ll just give it a try, see how it is.” They’re similar enough that most of the things transfer over.

What other genres of music are you interested in?
Annika:
I used to go to the fiddle mornings at the violin shop sometimes, and it was definitely a different way of playing to hear it – not see the music – and then play it. What I’m interested in now is doing like jazz violin I think would be cool because I like playing jazz piano. I guess kind of exploring different genres of the violin would be cool.
I listen to a lot of different genres. I listen to R&B and like 80’s rock and just whatever is going on in in my life that I think would be a good song to play right now. [If I’m feeling that it’s just a great day], I’d probably listen to some older soul music like Aretha Franklin.
Maddie:
I like pretty much exclusively Taylor Swift. Yeah, but I also like Bad Bunny, like in summer mostly. A little Harry Styles can do. Today it was One Direction.
Aniela:
I’m really into Taylor Swift! Right now, I’m really into Frank Sinatra.

What do you like most about being in an orchestra?
Annika:
I like the feeling when the whole section gets a part right that you can feel proud that everyone like played their part to do that. Like they all put in the practicing hours and they all did it outside of school when when they couldn’t hear each other. Teamwork. I like the teamwork aspect. I’m not a part of sports teams, but I’d imagine it’s maybe a similar feeling that if you’re a part of a sports team and you win a game or something. When your orchestra does well, there’s definitely that sort of spirit. That you know, you all accomplish something together.
Maddie:
Especially when there’s like one specific passage that you’ve been playing on Sundays constantly, and you’ve been working so hard on it. Then at a concert it all, just, like, goes exactly how it’s supposed to. It’s just like the best feeling.
Aniela:
I mean, I like hearing how my section fits into the orchestra as a whole. And I mean on some levels realizing like as a violin player, I think I had a pretty big ego about like the importance of my instrument. But a piece can’t be a piece without all the different parts of it and that that’s what I really like about it – a piece can’t be a piece without all of the different voices, really.

What have you gained from the experience of being in VYOA?
Aniela:
So like coming here, it was very hard to, like, make friends cause  everybody just has their group. So you just kind of have to find your people. And it definitely taught me how to, like, be more extroverted and meet people.
Annika:
I remember the first time I came, I actually had Maddie as a stand partner for the camp. And I remember I was super nervous, but I was like, “OK, I’m just going to talk to this person.” You know just see and try to make a friend, try to make an impression. Literally, we just started talking and I was like, OK, I’ll hang out with you. And then, we’ve just been hanging out.
Maddie:
All four years! And it’s funny because basically every year we get seated together. So it’s been nice to be stand partners this year. Even once during COVID we were put in the same group!
Aniela:
I think the biggest thing music in general, has taught me is diligence and accountability and, you know, being prepared. I can use that in school and in the rest of my life, knowing that people are counting on me to get things done. I have to practice – I have to know this part because if I don’t, then I’ll be letting down this group as a whole.