Lifting a silver flute to her lips, Karolyn Cheng (12) blows into the mouthpiece. Sweet music fills the practice room on the second floor of the Rothschild Performing Arts Center (RPAC). With a composed look on her face, Karolyn takes a breath and continues the song. The mirror-like surface of the flute glistens under fluorescent lights. Surrounded by other instruments in the orchestra room, Karolyn closes her eyes and lets her fingers guide her as she plays a song from memory.

“Music forces you to be more in touch with your emotions,” Karolyn said. “The reason why anyone loves music is because it makes you feel something. To express that, you have to be comfortable saying, ‘Oh, this makes me feel that way, I feel these things.’ And I don’t think that’s always easy. I think it helped me become a more open person.”

Karolyn stepped into the world of music at 5 years old with the piano, but she never felt fully satisfied with it until freshman year at Harker, where she enjoyed being surrounded by other students who are also deeply interested in music. From the beginning of her freshman year, she also started playing the flute for Harker’s orchestra and exhibited tremendous knowledge and skill.

As a part of the Harker upper school orchestra, students must perform a blind audition for instrumental music teacher Dr. David Hart in order to earn their seat based on skill. The students are expected to perform excerpts from difficult music behind a screen so Dr. Hart would not know who was there. Dr. Hart recalls looking back at his notes after the auditions, connecting the ratings with the students, and seeing how Karolyn scored very high and played with great confidence as a freshman.

“I was like, ‘Holy mackerel! That was Karolyn,’” Dr. Hart said. “She got a really high seat for freshmen in the orchestra, but she was always very humble and quiet. I remember congratulating her and she was like, ‘Oh, you know, I’m not that good.’ [She was] very humble about it, but gosh, she was incredible.”

Outside of Harker, Karolyn has been playing flute for the California Youth Symphony (CYS) since the ninth grade and joined their Senior Orchestra in 10th grade. Whether it was through CYS or Harker, Karolyn enjoys being surrounded by others who are equally passionate about music. She remembers fond memories at CYS’s annual week-long trip to Redwood Glen, a camp in the Santa Cruz mountains.

“That was definitely one of my best memories,” Karolyn said. “It’s in the woods and the acoustics aren’t great and I was lost half the time, but it was so fun. You hear everyone else playing right next to you and it’s 10 times better than sitting in the audience and listening. Everyone there cares about music, and hearing everything and being a part of it, it’s really fun.”

The camp day generally begins with exercises led by the orchestra conductor. Once everyone is warmed up, the group listens to music followed by two hours of sectionals, the subsections of the main orchestra that are organized by instrument. When practicing with the orchestra, Karolyn appreciated bonding with other musicians whom she wasn’t very close with at first. During free time, Karolyn and her friends went hiking and enjoyed the natural scenery of the camp. At the end of the day, the orchestra gathers for dinner.

“After dinner is my favorite part because we have a full orchestra rehearsal for two hours, and that’s when everything comes together,” Karolyn said. “And you know you don’t sound good, but it’s really fun anyway, because the feeling of playing together — it’s really fun.”

With the Harker Orchestra, Karolyn traveled to Hawaii, Universal Studios and Disneyland to perform and spend time with her classmates. After performing at various types of venues, Karolyn has almost perfected overcoming stage fright and the fear of making mistakes as she grew older and realized that there is more to enjoy about music instead of counting the number of mistakes she has made.

“I don’t really stress out about performances,” Karolyn said. “I did when I was younger, but now I don’t … because if it’s a performance by yourself, it’s for other students to learn. And for orchestra, I don’t really think about the concert beforehand. [I] hang out and have fun before and then during [the concert] I focus and try to make it the best it is.”

Karolyn’s love for music also translates to her hobby of listening to opera. She shares this interest with her close friends April Zhang (12) and Tina Zhong (12), who are also in the Harker orchestra. Tina recalls one time during the coronavirus lockdown in 2020 where she and Karolyn hiked up Mission Peak while listening to opera.

“The hike was very difficult and strenuous, but being with Karolyn helped a lot,” Tina said. “We listened to some opera music together on the way up to keep us going. We made it all the way up to the top and it was a very beautiful sight and we got to eat lunch together. It was very nice.”

Along with music, Karolyn also enjoys the performance of dancing, particularly ballet. She was enrolled in a ballet school in middle school, but by the time high school came around for Karolyn, she decided she would dance for fun. Since then, Karolyn has been participating in Harker’s annual Dance Show and enjoys being surrounded by a community of dancers.

“For the dance show, there’s always a finale at the end, where the entire cast goes on stage and does it together,” Karolyn said. “I always loved that part. After performing … I feel that excitement sitting backstage. It’s a really special experience.”

Karolyn brings her enthusiasm for performing to both orchestra and dance. Through her years of experience in middle school and high school, she has learned to appreciate the journey of preparing for a piece or dance and to value the people involved, ultimately leading her to celebrate dedication instead of perfectionism.

“Music makes you work hard,” Karolyn said. “Practicing forces you to keep yourself in charge because no one’s ever going to be there telling you, ‘Oh, this thing is due.’ It’s up to yourself to spend the time and that can be really hard. I think the process for everything is worth it no matter what comes out.”