DATE NO. 12
NAME: Lee Eunsong
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Solo Violin Performance at Carnegie Hall
DISLIKES:
Crowds, Skiing, Lizards
Jisu: Did you really have a solo performance at Carnegie Hall?
Eunsong: Yeah, it was a few years ago. Ms. Moon really likes to flash that fact around when she sets me up on these seons.
Jisu: What do you play?
Eunsong: The violin. Been playing since I was five. Most five-year-olds can’t even hold a fork the right way at five. But me? I was just starting to perfect my bow grip.
Jisu: That’s impressive! What did you perform?
Eunsong: Scottish Fantasy by Max Bruch and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.
Jisu: I’m going to be honest, I don’t know either of those pieces. Although I do recognize the composers’ names.
Eunsong: That’s fine. No one really knows the solo stuff unless it’s super famous. Everyone just sort of recognizes one of the Beethoven symphonies.
Jisu: Carnegie Hall though. That must have been like a real dream come true.
Eunsong: For the first time, it really was! You know I’ve performed there close to five times now, right? Not all solo performances, but I’ve gotten pretty well acquainted with it.
Eunsong: Did you know that people used to live in Carnegie Hall? They ousted the final tenants, but there were these artists that used to live there. It’s incredible. I wish I was born earlier so I could do that.
Jisu: That sounds amazing. I’ve never been to Carnegie Hall. I visited NYC once when I was a child, and I think we even walked past the hall, but I’ve never been inside.
Eunsong: They have a man-operated elevator that takes you to the balcony seats. There are so few of those kinds of elevators left. It’s kinda neat.
Jisu: Is that your favorite performance hall?
Eunsong: I don’t know actually. It’s so hard to choose. Maybe because it’s older, but something about Carnegie feels more intimate compared to a place like Avery Fisher.
Jisu: Which one’s that?
Eunsong: It’s where the New York Philharmonic plays in Lincoln Center. It’s actually called David Geffen Hall now, but it was Avery Fisher for like years before they sold the name to some other billionaire. Honestly, it’ll always be Avery Fisher to me.
Jisu: Have you performed there?
Eunsong: No, but I will one day, I’m sure.
Jisu: You seem very confident.
Eunsong: Usually, if I put my head into it, I’ll get it done.
Jisu: Just like that.
Eunsong: Google Science Fair. I’m not even a huge science nerd. I just had this one good idea and I thought—how can I make good use out of this? It was a proposal on more effective ways to recycle. I submitted it and then boom—first place. First place in the world.
Jisu: That’s great! Good for you.
Eunsong: One time, my little sister entered me into a really competitive painting contest. I think she just wanted to see me lose for once.
Jisu: Let me guess. You won that, too?
Eunsong: No, I came in runner-up. But there was no way I should’ve done well. There were a bunch of art school kids that didn’t even place in the top three. Anyway, my sister was annoyed. But it really wasn’t bad!
Jisu: What did your piece look like?
Eunsong: Well, I’ve only ever taken a few basic art classes. So I decided to throw a swath of colors onto a canvas and call it abstract. The judges praised my use of color and said I had a great eye. You can’t teach an artist to have a good instinct with colors. So I don’t feel like a complete fraud.
Jisu: Is there ever a time when you do feel like a fraud?
Eunsong: Hmm. Actually, you know what, probably not.
Jisu: Yeah, that’s what I thought.