VYOA Blog

Thong (Key) Ngyuen, voice
Winooski High School
Joined VYOA in 2015
VYChorus – 2 years

 

 

 

 

 

What do you love most about singing? 
Singing is a way for me to find balance in my life. I enjoy every moment I perform on stage or just simply singing in my bedroom. I confess that every time I have a concert or a music event coming up, I feel more motivated to finish all other works faster and have some free time to practice my piece.

Who or what has been your most important musical influence?
Mr. Pillsbury has been my most important musical influence. He is a wonderful conductor and a great teacher. He taught me to sing, helped me to prepare for auditions, inspired me to keep going forward, and supported me every step of the way to who I am today. My singing style is strongly influenced by Pillsbury. Every time I have a chance to work with professional singers to advance my skills, they all tell me that whoever taught me to sing had done a wonderful job. (Well, Mr. Pillsbury, take your credit!)

What has been the most inspiring experience that you have had as a member of the VYChorus?
I have many great experiences as a VYChorus member but I would say the most inspiring experience for me is just simply be able to sing with other members of VYC every week. I am grateful for every moment I spent with them because I can’t imagine how boring my life would be without those amazing friends. In fact, one of them became a very close (and important) friend of mine. My life has changed 180° since I joined VYC.

Why did you choose to join the VYChorus?
I would give 2/3 of the credit to Rainbow Chen, a double bassist in VYO. She was the reason why I applied to VYChorus. The other 1/3 of the credit would go to my school because if the choral program at my high school did not suddenly get taken away when I already felt deeply in love with singing, I would never think about joining other music programs. I was really sad but I thought that everything happened for a reason. If I did not join VYC, I would never get to know Mr. Pillsbury and other members of VYC. That being said, all of the things I mentioned in question #2 and #3 would not have happened.

What other sports/groups/activities are you involved in?
Leadership and social activities are my two other favorites. This year I mostly focus on school and college works so I spent less time for leadership and social activities but in the last three years, I have been a member/youth counselor of Diversity Rocks International Youth Group; a youth-led group with the mission of helping our community to be a better place and creating a safe place for youth voice to be heard. The group activities are varied from helping students with their homework to hosting conferences about social issues. I also involved in student government and student voice team at my high school to take the lead on creating a better learning environment.

 If you could perform with any musician, living or dead, who would it be & why?
If I could perform with any musician, I would want to perform with Joan Sutherland, one of the legends in the opera world. I still remember my first opera experience was watching a video of Joan Sutherland’s performance on Youtube (it was about five years ago). I was so impressed by that; her voice and the music she made were beyond what I had experienced before and that was also when I found out how much I love Opera.

What are your plans after graduation?
My plan after graduation is going to a 4-year college. I’m not sure what I want to major in but I know that it will be something in bio-science field. I will definitely keep singing, so I might end up double major or minor in music performance with the focus in Opera.