The end of the year is always a time for reflection, and this month we caught up with Elemental Strings alum Kielor Tung, who is now a violinist in 12th grade at Santa Monica High School.
Dr. Jo (also known as Josephine Moerschel, our Executive & Artistic Director) loved having the opportunity to talk with Kielor about his past experiences with Elemental Music, his advice for our young musicians, and how he is keeping busy even during the pandemic. Read the interview below!
JM: What instrument do you play?
KT: I am primarily a violinist however recently I have started picking up the viola and cello, because I do like string instruments. But I’m still a violinist at heart.
JM: Which ensembles do you play in?
KT: I play in my school’s Symphony Orchestra which is the highest orchestra there is, and there’s also a special part-time orchestra called Chamber Orchestra, which is made up of the most elite, strongest string players of Symphony Orchestra.
JM: You were in Elemental Strings many years ago, do you have any memories from that time?
KT: In 5th grade, I was part of the 1st violin section in Chamber Orchestra. We had a sectional teacher named Mr. Anderson. He was a very funny guy and he would often compose pieces for Elemental Strings. It was really fun because he always had these cool techniques. I even remember he wrote a piece for his daughter that we played and it was really fun and beautiful.
JM: That’s right, that was a piece dedicated to his daughter Lydia. It was great. So your mother shared with me that you didn’t exactly want to do Elemental Strings when it first came around. Is that true?
KT: I mean, yeah. I’ll be honest. When I started playing violin, I wanted to play by myself. I liked to noodle around. Going to orchestra seemed like such a chore. I was kind of a shy kid, I didn’t want to have to be around other people. But I gave it a shot...because my mother made me...I had to...and then I tried it and I was like, you know, this is actually kind of cool.
Elemental Strings was actually my first orchestra experience and we were playing really interesting music and I was just like...what are these called? Violas? Wait, that’s a thing? There’s a thing called a viola? Anyway...it was a cool experience. It was really interesting to hear everybody playing their different part. Individually, you know, these parts actually sound extremely boring. But when you put them all together, it actually sounds quite amazing. And my mom was just like, “ok your one year of doing orchestra is up. You don’t have to do it again.” And I was like...but...I kind of want to!
I actually made a lot of new friends there, too. I only knew friends from just my elementary school and while it is a big school, I didn’t make that many friends at elementary school. Going to Elemental Strings, I made way more friends. Some of them, I do talk to them every day - some of them not so much. But I’m glad that the ones I still talk to, I still have great friendships with them.
JM: That makes me so happy to know that friendships that started in Elemental Music, that you’re still friends after all these years. If you had one piece of advice for our current students, what would it be?
KT: Hm...that’s a tough question. There’s so much! Enjoy it, because this is probably the most important experience you’re going to have because it really introduces you to what orchestra is going to be like. If you want to go into middle or high school and do orchestra, it’s such great preparation. You know, in elementary school, it’s like - you’re gonna focus on playing your own instrument. But in middle school and high school, it’s more about learning to play together. And i feel like Elemental Strings will give you that experience of being able to play together and cooperate as a section. It gives you first insight into what sectional exercises are really like, because that really is what middle and high school is about - learning how to play together, as a team member. And also really just enjoy Elemental Strings. It really was a great experience.
JM: I’m so glad to hear that. Now that you’re a senior, what are your musical goals for the future?
KT: I mean...I still don’t even know what I particularly want to do. I know that I’m interested in music, I definitely submitted my recordings into colleges. I’m hoping to major in music performance but also maybe a science degree. I do like STEM and I really am interested in both...so I’m applying for both.
JM: Nice. Do you feel like Elemental Music helped you stay connected with music for all of these years? How important do you think your experience with Elemental Music was in your musical development?
KT: Oh, it was absolutely really important - it really was - because it gave me an insight into what orchestra was actually like, and it opened up way more orchestra and music repertoire knowledge. When I started, all I heard was Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star or Row, Row, Row, Your Boat or Minuet in G. But then, you know, orchestra music opened up a whole new area of what music was actually like. Not just solo playing with a piano - you're actually playing with other string instruments that make fantastic music. Elemental Strings really helped me enter that world and it was fantastic.
JM: That’s so great. So the last 9-10 months have really changed how we make music. We aren’t able to sit side by side in orchestra like we once were. What sorts of musical projects have you taken on since the start of the pandemic?
KT: So in junior year, we were supposed to go to a European tour to Amsterdam and Berlin to play in the Berliner Philharmonie and the Concertgebouw. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, all tours were canceled...But our orchestra teacher Ms. Swenson was like, I don’t want this to totally destroy the orchestra’s spirit. So we decided, why don’t we put together a final orchestra video that would be premiered at the end of the year? Just one orchestra video, but an important one. And it was Beethoven’s last movement of his Fifth Symphony in C minor. And I helped put together all 100 videos and meshed them together. It actually sounded really good and the final product was absolutely insane! I can’t believe we actually pulled it off.
JM: Wow! Had you played around with video and audio editing before?
KT: Not really! This was definitely my first experience of how hard video and audio editing is. One person editing 100 people is absolutely insane. It is a huge amount of work.
JM: Well I saw that video, it is really impressive and you guys sounded fantastic. That final video really captures the spirit of what the orchestra sounds like.
I know that in addition to that, you were busy doing another little project. Tell me what inspired you to do that.
KT: I took what we did in orchestra - the Beethoven video - as inspiration. For the fall concert, it was not like a traditional concert where everybody played together as an orchestra but rather it was now the students turn to shine and turn in their individual recordings. I decided that I wanted to put together something that was fun and that everybody would recognize. I thought Vivaldi’s Spring - everybody knows it, it’s such a fun piece and I actually have all the instruments at my disposal. I had my violin, I had my viola, I had my cello...I even had a harpsichord at the ready. So I was like, why not put this together and it can be such a fun piece for people’s enjoyment.
JM: How long did it take for you to put that together?
KT: Oh, hours. I took maybe two days, at least. I think I was filming for like 8 hours just the videos itself. And then editing together to make it sound good probably took an additional day and a half.
JM: Well it was fantastic to watch, and quite something to see you playing all of the parts and all of the different instruments! Do you have any other projects that you’re working on?
KT: Hopefully after college applications are over, I can get down to doing another project!