Second Act: Rediscovering Music Abroad

Grace started playing the cello in fifth grade as part of her school’s curriculum. Music was a place where she could build a community, even at 11 years old.

“Some of my fondest memories from when I first started learning cello were our schoolwide performances,” she recalls. “It was one of the few times I could see and hang out with everyone in my grade.”

Other priorities took precedence when Grace started at NYU. But when she decided to study away at NYU Shanghai in spring 2023, Grace signed up for the NYU Shanghai Chamber Orchestra class. As she began studying music abroad, she dove back into practicing and performing.

The ensemble rehearsed every Tuesday night, but Grace worked tirelessly outside of class to refamiliarize herself with the instrument. She practiced in her dorm and in the basement-level music rooms on campus. She would even pull out her cello after returning to campus from her internship.

“It was a great way to relieve stress at the end of the day,” she says. “During my time at NYU Shanghai, I grew more disciplined. Since I wasn’t doing private lessons and there wasn’t someone constantly monitoring my progress or watching over me, I had to take it upon myself to practice and learn the pieces.”

At the end of the semester, the ensemble held a concert where they performed both Eastern and Western classical music. Grace’s friends from school, as well as her mother, were in the audience.

“Performing is what I look forward to the most,” Grace reflects. “It feels like the final culmination of all the practice and hard work I put in for the past however many months. I’ve always been on the more introverted and perfectionist side, so I worry about messing up. But as I’ve matured as a player and person, I realize it’s not that deep, and I should just have fun.”

Since Shanghai, Grace hasn’t forgotten her cello. While studying away in Prague during spring 2024, she took advantage of another set of practice rooms to revisit her musical talent. Grace graduated from NYU this spring, but she hopes to find new opportunities to play cello in her life after college. She is also thankful for the opportunity she had to revive her passion for music while abroad.