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Meet Rising Star Alice Yoo |
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Home > What's New > Caramoor Blog > Meet Rising Star Alice Yoo
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October 19, 2010
“Caramoor’s annual Rising Stars week will begin on Monday, October 25th when eight excited young artists arrive for a week of master-classes, rehearsals and two final performances. In anticipation of this week, I wrote to all eight rising stars with interview questions for our blog. As a recent conservatory graduate, I found myself enthralled with their answers and very much in sync with their experiences as young artists. Here is the first installment in our eight part series in which you will meet all of this year’s rising stars. I hope you enjoy meeting these artists I much as I have!” – Alison Shearer
 | | Alice Yoo, cello |
Age - 25
Place of Birth - I was born in New York but I grew up in Bozeman, Montana.
You have studied with Ralph Kirshbaum, who is here as a mentor for our Rising Stars Program. How does it feel to be working with him in a professional setting as opposed to a classroom?
I am so excited to have the chance to play next to Ralph! One of the most moving experiences I have had at a live concert was hearing him perform the G major Brahms sextet. It embodied everything I would hope to feel and experience at a concert and what I hope I can aspire to give to others as a performer. I am really looking forward to working and performing the Brahms with him.
He has been an incredible teacher and mentor to me the last few years. It's been really exciting to see how our work together has evolved and I think it is great to have a chance to be his colleague now for the week!
Have you found it difficult to have a professional career while still in school?
I think it is important, whether or not you are in school, to be very active in creating lots of different projects and opportunities for yourself. To learn music you are interested in for the sake of learning it and, in general, to be challenged and engaged in the things you are doing. Now that I am looking at my last year of school, I am trying to take advantage of all my lessons and the time I have to practice and prepare, but also transition out to being a professional musician and get as much experience as I can. I am very grateful for all the different opportunities, like Caramoor, that allows me to gain more experience. I must say that as scary as it is, I am also excited for life after school and whatever that may bring!
Do you often run into the same musicians at various young artist programs? / What is it like playing with friends?
It is such a small world! One of the reasons I absolutely love playing chamber music is that I get to collaborate and perform with new and old friends. I have been lucky enough to meet up with old friends at various festivals over the last several years. It's such a great experience being able to learn from your friends and be inspired through them. I particularly enjoy the fact that we are all working together to make a really beautiful and convincing performance of the music. I feel like I get to know my friends even better through the music we share together. It's a very special thing because by playing and working together, you really get a chance to know one another in a very special and intimate way just through the music making.
Why is classical music still relevant today?
Classical music is definitely relevant in the world we live in! All art and music is important and necessary in a person’s life; it's just as important as breathing. I think it is our job as musicians not only to present the music with integrity and thoughtfulness, but to also make the overall experience a bit more approachable and accessible to people. I sometimes think that younger audiences do not come to a classical music concert, not because they don't like the music, but because they don't understand what they are hearing and would like to know what to listen for. It then is our jobs to make the overall experience something that can really connect.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by so many different things! I am affected through different books I read, through poetry, paintings, photos, food, smells, colors, sounds, and of course, all sorts of different music I hear. Inspiration comes from many different, and sometimes, funny places. I am also constantly inspired by the wonderful people I have in my life to look at myself differently and see the world with fresh eyes and a different perspective. I hope that carries into the music I create and share with others. I hope I will constantly evolve as an artist and person and be surprised with new ideas all the time.
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