“In NOFA, it really doesn’t matter if you live with a disability – you can still play music.”
Meet Tianci. The first violinist enjoyed a quick tea break with us at Westminster School during National Orchestra for All’s recent winter session – the first in-person rehearsal for the ensemble in almost two years, owing to the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Here the Grade 8 musician tells us her moving story and shares words of wisdom with other young people who may be struggling…
What inspired you to pick up the violin?
I play the violin because you can do many things with a violin. You can pluck it, you can play bow on it, you can do a tremolo. If you picked guitar, I think you could only pluck it! I think if you tried to bow on it, it wouldn’t really work. But I mean, there is the viola and the cello and the double bass but I think the violin has the most – and it’s easy to carry.
You could say the same for the viola but I’m kinda used to the strings of B, D, A and E, rather than C. I mean it would work because they’re still in fifths, if you’re trying to play a scale but I think I’m more interested and open to violin.
What music are you enjoying playing at the moment?
The [NOFA] piece where it involves pizzicato – my mum printed the score for me and I practiced it before I came here today [to the NOFA Winter Session]. It’s one of the old pieces, starts with an S… ‘Spoitoresa’!
Pictured: National Orchestra for All (NOFA) violinist, Tianci, tunes up ahead of her first in-person rehearsal
How does it feel to be part of NOFA?
It feels good, it feels kind of like a giant family. Not to make it like weird but you know. It feels like everyone is your friend.
Has Orchestras for All helped to break down barriers to music-making for you?
Before I joined the orchestra, I think because I’m not really social and because I have social anxiety, I thought I wasn’t really up to meeting new people. But how I described it earlier, it’s like a giant family. I feel like I won’t be scared, I’ll be proud because I did go through all the playing. Everyone’s nice here, we’re all open. In my previous experiences at school, I got bullied but nobody bullies here. Everyone is really nice here.
You know Lucy [Hale]? We all value her, we all miss her – she kind of connected all of us in a way. That made us all like each other and be friends with everyone. Even like adult to adult, adult to child, child to child. It doesn’t matter what age, she joined all of us in a way. She still lives inside all of us.
Read more: A tribute to Lucy Hale, National Orchestra for All's former Young Composer-in-Residence >
Here it doesn’t matter if you’re disabled because you can still play music. You can be in a wheelchair and still play the trumpet or the clarinet. You could be in a wheelchair and play the violin. You could have a stammer and still play the violin. ‘Cos like music is like a new language. It’s a language we can all communicate by – the playing of music, if you know what I mean?
“Music is a new language – a language we can all communicate by,” says NOFA violinist, Tianci
Where do you picture yourself in 10 years’ time?
Now I do some conducting and some pieces for an orchestra. It’s around where I live in Richmond. I conduct in the orchestra and imagine one day being like a giant conductor or a lead violinist, ya know?
Like when we went to Leeds, there was a lead violinist who was really confident and I thought I just want to be like him. I think his name was Isaac or something, I’m not too sure. But yeah, I just want to be like a main violinist one day, enjoying my time.
If you could share a message with other young people who are considering joining an orchestra, what would it be?
I would probably say don’t be scared what other people think because their thoughts don’t matter. Their thoughts don’t matter to you. It’s your goal and if you just continue playing, you’re gonna get your goal.
There were loads of opinions about me before – I didn’t take it to person and now I’m still playing violin, Grade 8. That’s my main message I would say – don’t give up no matter what anyone else says.
Conductor Justin Fung (left) leads the way in Westminster School during a National Orchestra for All session
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