VYOA Blog

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