This past September, Skyline senior Flora Yang performed at Carnegie Hall, one of the most famous music venues in the world. Yang, a part-time Running Start student, has played the flute since fifth grade.
Yang is headed to New York University (NYU) in the fall to pursue a Bachelor of Music in instrumental performance with a focus on flute.
She was not always a flutist, though. “In elementary school, [they teach you] guitar and recorder. I found the recorder super easy and I think that just clicked for me,” said Yang. She tried piano early in elementary school, though it did not strike the same chord. “I really didn’t have the passion for it, nor the interest.”
Her mother played flute in college and encouraged Yang to try the instrument, which was a different experience from the start. “I actually found it really easy, and I had a lot of fun with it, even from the beginning,” Yang said.
Last year, Yang won the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall and Harvard University as a first-prize winner of the Special Venue Music Awards. The audition was a way her accompanist suggested she overcome her fear of playing live in preparation for college auditions.
Months after the audition, Yang received news that she had won the performance. Standing on stage at Carnegie Hall in New York, she recalled feeling nervous, especially as her parents were unable to accompany her. Then, she remembered why she loves music—its power to connect.
“When I looked into the audience, there was this kind old man who was looking at me, beaming from ear to ear,” she said, smiling. “He was just enjoying the music that I was playing.”
For Yang, music has always been about the people she can affect and those it brings into her life. Since picking up the instrument, she has played in numerous orchestras, ensembles, and bands, including Skyline’s Symphonic Band.
“Being able to play the flute means that my music can reach the audience and people that I don’t even know,” Yang said. She reminisced about the conductors and mentors she met at All State last year, inspirations she never would have crossed paths with otherwise. “Had I not started doing music, I don’t think I would have been as social as I am now,” she said.
She also credits her teachers and friends for helping her get this far, specifically calling out Skyline band teacher Mr. Pitt. “He’s been such an incredible part of my high school music career in general… He’s always been the teacher I can talk to about my own anxieties about being a musician,” Yang said.
As for what comes next, Yang plans to keep performing. If her college experience is anything like high school, she already knows what she is most looking forward to: “playing music means I’m going to be able to meet so many more people.”
