Chern Yang
For me, YOCJ has been a wonderful place to experience repertoire, meet fellow musicians, practice and improve musicianship, and to simply enjoy music. From joining in fourth grade, to now having graduated high school, YOCJ has truly helped shape me into who I am today.I will never forget the Germany tour in sixth grade, where I got to experience touring with an ensemble for the first time. Though it may have been through rose-tinted glasses, I was taken aback by the beautiful cathedrals and halls we performed in (visually and acoustically!), the rich culture and history we were surrounded by, and also the experience of spending a trip doing nothing but performing and enjoying music. I gained such a deeper appreciation for music, history and culture. Just hearing Mendelssohn’s Reformation Symphony still brings back those fond memories.
I will never forget the YOCJ programs during COVID, where I got to debut a piece with Midori… over Zoom. Meeting and performing with her was an unforgettable experience, but so was the nightmarish process of rehearsing and recording online — deciphering pixelated conducting, listening to a crumbling ensemble, fighting with the third-party recording software, all while playing a piece that was deliberately staggered to sound like lag. I did, however, also gain from there the opportunity to join the Argus Quartet’s Composers’ Institute, which would enrich, empower, and forever change my journey as a composer.
These experiences, and so countless others, have impacted me so much. Yet above all, I will never forget the simple, week-to-week rehearsals. For eight years, YOCJ remained a comforting constant in my life. Every rehearsal, no matter how tired or how down I felt, I could unpack my instrument, sit down, and just forget about the world for a while, to simply enjoy creating music. Even though some rehearsals might have felt boring or tedious at the time, looking back I realize how important it was for me to have these moments of solace, and how incredibly fortunate I am to have had them. For every moment YOCJ has gifted me, I am grateful.
