Every month, we like to spotlight one of our incredible Elemental Music teachers. Some of them have been teaching with us for close to a decade while others might be in their first year of working for our organization, but there is one thing that all of our teachers have in common: their dedication to the young musicians in our programs.
This month, we are featuring Jayla Tang. This is Jayla’s first season teaching in our programs and we are excited to have them working with us in Prelude and Encore/Bergmann Program!
Elemental Music: How did you get started playing your instrument?
Jayla Tang: I had actually studied piano before I chose the violin, at the age of 6! I made the switch because I didn't quite like the piano teacher I had at the moment, and I also thought the violin would give me more life. However, my mother taught me to sing before anything else; she is, as one would say, "instrumental" to my various musical ventures.
EM: What inspired you to teach in addition to performing?
JT: Teaching is one of my favorite things to do and probably one of the first things I enjoyed doing after immigrating to the states. Back in elementary, my private teacher, Dianne Rammon, was hired to instruct group lessons at my school. I was so happy about this situation, that apparently, I started going around fixing the postures of my younger classmates on a regular basis. Looking back, it was a very arrogant thing to do since I was practically brand new to the instrument as well!
EM: This is your first season teaching with Elemental Music. What is your favorite thing about coaching Prelude so far?
JT: My absolute favorite thing(s) about working with Prelude students is the pure joy that surrounds our weekly diet of making strange, colorful sounds on our instruments, learning rhythms through funny movements, and growing as a musician and human - all alongside these wonderful children that have so much to offer.
EM: What is one of your favorite musical memories?
JT: One of my favorite musical memories is probably my first time ever conducting on stage! I was merely 18 and was a young violin coach at the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestras. The gig was basically to coordinate a very, VERY long version of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance so that all of the graduates could be recognized individually on stage. This was almost 10 years ago - who would've thought?
EM: If you could give our students one piece of advice, musical or otherwise, what would it be?
JT: If I could give my students just one piece of advice, as cliché as this may sound, it would be to simply follow your heart; there is no one way to live life! Whether you want to pursue an instrument, a sport, a dream, or a job, this life is completely yours, so make it your own.
Jayla designed and performed sounds to this graphic score by Katie Eikam as an elegy for the lives lost during the Atlantic Spa Shootings against women of the AAPI community.