Although at first reluctantly forced into learning music, Jeffery Lu now finds joy in his music learning process and wants to share his passions with others.Lu started playing the violin in fourth grade when many of his peers did as well. In middle school, he recalls being asked to brainstorm reasons why he plays the violin.
After raising his hand, Lu promptly answered, “Because I’m Asian.”
This comment earned him a talk after school with his orchestra teacher. While witty, his reason carried a good ounce of truth in it.
At one point in his music journey, Lu seriously considered abandoning the violin to pursue another of his favorite instruments-- the double bass.
“At a certain point I realized that there wasn’t any point in playing music if I wasn’t doing it for myself. So I [started] playing the violin for fun,” Lu said.
As the concertmaster, Lu helps Glendora High School’s orchestra make sure their instruments are tuned and ready to play. His favorite memory was playing in an ensemble with his friends in GHS’ orchestra.
Lu recounted, “[S]even of my closest friends and [I] played a medley of Pixar songs: that was probably the best performance of my life.”
Outside of school, Lu plays for the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra's Philharmonic division. Although he was not able to perform in Vienna, Austria this past summer, Lu is grateful for the opportunity to have performed internationally at Costa Rica before entering high school.
Lu remembered that he used to respond in disbelief when his private music teacher told him that he would be teaching others one day. Now, he teaches kids the violin and finds that he learns a lot from the experience.
Along with Luke Xia and Stephaine Wong, Lu founded a nonprofit organization that teaches students from first to twelfth grade music. Since learning music through zoom is harder than usual, Lu and the other tutors hope that their lessons can support the music students during this time and inspire them through their teaching.
A link to receive free 30-minutes virtual instrument tutoring can be found at https://kidskonservatory.com. Students interested in teaching may contact the organization at kidskonservatory@gmail.com.
