#dorothy delay

[firelord-frowny]

itsmerandi replied to your post: “So like. I made one of my students cry for the first time yesterday??...”:

Also, can I just say how far you've come from like high school/early college where you were like I HATE VIOLIN!!! I'M ���� A ���� WRITER! ���� And I just remember you hating it so much! And look at you now! I just...think about that all lot.

HAH!

I mean... it’s kinda still true lmao. Like... ehhh, I guess I don’t hate violin exactly, but I hate a lot of the culture that tends to be inherent to being a classical musician... which like... honestly a lot of why I felt how I felt was because I didn’t even realize just how disadvantaged I was compared to so many other musicians who were actually lucky enough to receive world-class instruction, and actually be in a position to thrive in a university setting and beyond... like, my old teacher (the fucking crazy ass one who used to be my boss) was literally holding me to a standard that she was NOT CAPABLE of helping me to reach. And it made me so intensely miserable, feeling like I just wasn’t good enough to succeed, when actually, she’s just a mediocre teacher. The gag is, she’s still one of the best teachers in the state. Which is why I was so convinced for so long that she was soooo amazing. But like... I’m the best student she’s ever been able to produce. And that’s not saying much, honestly. 

So like... yeah, in that sense, I’m still bitter about the experience I had and the strife it caused me, and I get sad to the point of near-tears when I think about how good I could be if I’d only had access to better teachers, and I still DEFINITELY think I’m a way more capable writer than I am a violinist... but I have enough understanding of why I had the experience I had to be able to at least still love to play... even though all I truly give a shit about when it comes to violin, is solo Bach, Baroque music in general, and string quartets lol. Everything else can suck a dick. 

[asianamsmakingmusic]

Chee-Yun came to the United States when she was 12 to study at the Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay, one of the most influential violin teachers of a generation.

DeLay, who died in 2002, worked with violinists from Itzhak Perlman (who now holds DeLay’s teaching post at Juilliard) to Midori and Sarah Chang.

Chee-Yun says she was terrified at their first meeting.

“She’s the greatest teacher in the world, and here’s this little girl from Korea,” the violinist said. “And she was the nicest lady I’ve ever met. So kind. So complimentary.

“Immediately, she gave me so much confidence because she believed in me. I thought, ‘If she believes in me, I can make it happen.’ ”

DeLay told her that music needed to be her entire life.

“I must be willing to sacrifice everything else for it,” Chee-Yun said. “But she did all this through so much kindness and so much love. You never felt like she thought of you as just another talented student.

“She knew how to get the best out of each one of her students.”