As Jerry Li (12) pulls a bow over the strings of his cello, he smiles, finally satisfied with the phrase of his new song. Gently setting down his instrument, he leans over to his music stand, picks up a pencil and transcribes the notes onto his sheet music, graphite scratching as he completes his new piece that stemmed from a burst of inspiration during his day.

Jerry appreciates music as a way of communication and especially enjoys composing songs, as he deeply connects to his own creations. Starting off his musical journey with the piano in kindergarten, he picked up the cello in third grade. This year, he became principal cellist of the Harker upper school orchestra, leading his section of other cellists.

“Playing cello is relaxing and helps me say stuff that I can’t say in words,” Jerry said. “I’m not really an emotional person. Music can help me translate what I’m feeling into something.”

In his free time, Jerry often listens to and composes songs. He also takes cello and music creation classes outside of school. Even when busy, he still constantly thinks about music and writes down his new ideas on whatever he can, a quality his close friend Dilip Jayavant (12) admires.

“There have been several occasions where we’ll be out and Jerry just randomly starts writing something down,” Dilip said. “It’s pretty amazing to see. I mean, you don’t often see people literally writing stuff down on the back of the napkin. But I’ve seen that. And his enthusiasm for music is really inspiring.”

Jerry does not confine his passion for music to just his spare time. Zachary Blue (12), another of Jerry’s close friends who met him during the pandemic through playing video games together, often sees Jerry’s unique musical habits on display as he constantly strives to improve, even while not working.

“He procrastinates by writing music, which is really interesting,” Zachary said. “Most people would just procrastinate by playing games. But he literally takes a sheet of paper, or has a bunch of lines and then starts playing music, which I think is really cool. And then he also starts humming and then I’m always thinking, what are you singing?”

Even with his enjoyment of music, Jerry sometimes still finds it hard to keep on practicing his instrumental skills. However, he keeps persisting through these difficult periods, overcoming his writers block and reinforcing his love for music.

“There’s periods where I just don’t get any ideas or I lose motivation,” Jerry said. “But you can’t really improve that music without practicing, and from personal experience I’ve experienced not practicing and just being disappointed. Whenever a concert goes well though it’s cool to see all that work come into fruition.”

Even though Jerry finds himself comfortable when communicating through music, he often takes on a more quiet and reserved demeanor when not playing an instrument. However, he still exudes a positive energy to his teachers and peers both inside and outside class. Upper school history teacher James Tate is grateful for Jerry’s contributions in his AP US History class.

“Jerry’s got a way of making his presence felt through his creativity and positive mindset, even though he’s not very vocal, which is quite remarkable because he’s surrounded by a lot of loud, vocal people,” Tate said. “So having your presence noticed when you’re surrounded by flamboyant, vibrant, in-your-face people is quite remarkable.”

Jerry’s positive enthusiasm spreads when spending time with his friends, whether that time is spent in voice calls doing homework or having fun. Zachary values his empathy and support during hardships.

“Jerry’s a little shy,” Zachary said. “But once you get to know him better, he really opens up. And he doesn’t really know it. But he’s really funny in his own way. He’s always been there for me, especially when I had my hard times. So I really appreciate him.”

With music helping him express himself, Jerry always strives to improve his music playing and creation. Although to others it may seem like just melodies, Jerry believes that it’s the key to him for communication and improvement of himself as a person.

”Every day, I think that if I finish today, I’m one day closer to my goal of improving myself, especially in music,” Jerry said. “Music has given me a lot of life skills like leadership and patience, and also helped me appreciate the little things, and that’s why I love it.”