(dramatic violin music)
- My name's Dominique Valenzuela.
I'm from the United States.
And I'm a second year violinist
at the Tianjin Juilliard School,
as an orchestral studies major.
Ever since I was a kid, I loved music
and growing up in a Mexican household
within the United States,
I was exposed to so many different kinds.
Actually, the first time I heard the violin live
was with a mariachi band playing
and I thought it was so cool,
that I continued it into my adulthood.
And when I learned that the new campus in China
offered orchestral studies as a major,
I focused all of my attention
and energy on this school,
because I knew it'd be so unique.
And truly, it has been.
A typical day at Tianjin Julliard.
It begins early and it ends late.
But the working classes are so rewarding
that you really can't wait to come back.
Every morning, I make breakfast and coffee,
and then on my way to school,
I put in some headphones,
and I listen to Performance Psychology Podcast,
and that gets me into the right head space.
Once I'm here, I head straight
to the practice rooms
and I get some work in before my classes.
It's a really good time to get warmed up
and to get centered with myself and my instrument
before the day really gets started.
I usually start with my technique
and then I play through some of my music
so I know where my focus needs to be
throughout my practice in the day.
Orchestral Rep is with our guest artist,
Bing Wang, and it's one of those classes
that get you really comfortable
with being vulnerable.
If you're not already, you'll definitely learn.
Every week, we have a new set of music
from the orchestra repertoire
that we become familiar with,
and we learn how to audition with.
There's so many different aspects
to a composer's music, articulation,
phrasing, vibrato, playing in the right style.
And in this class, I'm learning
how to bring out those characteristics
so I can have a successful audition.
You know, when I play,
I'm in front of my entire class, so sometimes,
it can be a really nervous experience.
But you know, you get used to that
and you learn how to use that energy
and really build your confidence.
Auditioning, really, it's just a skill,
and this class prepares you to use that skill
in the real world.
Every week I meet my professor, Angelo Xiang Yu,
and this is without a doubt,
one of the best part of my studies here.
It's already an incredibly fruitful experience,
getting to work with a professional
and someone from the Shanghai String Quartet,
but Angelo is so wise.
And every lesson is like an entire decade's worth
of knowledge, but packed into one hour.
Typically, in a conservatory setting,
solo training is focused mainly
on the technical aspect of music,
but in my lessons with Angelo,
it's all about knowing the score
and how my part fits in
with the entire orchestra,
as another component of the music,
like an organism.
- It's like, it's already pretty high, I can go even higher.
- [Dominique] So every lesson to me,
it's like another competition with myself, right?
How much can I improve in the next seven days?
How much can I discover?
How well am I conveying the language
of this composer to the audience?
Angelo inspires me to explore
all dimensions of the music
and to really dig deep
into the mind of the composer.
I've become so much more imaginative,
so much more creative in my playing.
You know, when I go into studio,
I feel like a student, but when I leave,
I feel like an artist.
And that is an incredible feeling.
Sonata form is a class that builds off of that
same artistic energy, actually.
Dr. Athens is such a brilliant thinker
and engaging professor that I look forward
to going to class every week.
So it's Sonata form after Beethoven.
And we engage with scores of various composers
to try to understand why they made
their compositional decisions.
When lunch comes, it's such a sigh of relief.
We can just relax, talk about food and, you know,
learn about each other's culture.
And I think,
that's the beauty of Tianjin Julliard.
The environment is so welcoming
and you can really take inspiration
from everyone that's around you.
Today's a really exciting day
because we're going to perform
our prepared Mozart 39 Amadeus shock eight
with Chen Lin.
And that's one of the highlights
of the school, I think.
The guest conductors.
They all have these different styles
of leading an orchestra
and they make the music come alive
in so many different ways
and still hold us to a professional standard.
So, it's still work,
but it's fun. Apart from being colleagues,
we're all friends here
and we have a very close community.
One of my best friends here, Minson,
she's also the concertmaster
of the orchestra and one of the funniest,
most kind and most talented people that I know.
The music that we make together,
it's so special for that reason.
I mean, we all want to cross
the finish line together and in orchestra,
that's exactly where we do it.
I remember one morning,
I was watching Tom and Jerry.
I was probably like 10 years old
and that's the first time I saw an orchestra.
And I remember thinking to myself like,
"Man, that's cool."
"I want to wear a tuxedo to work."
And now, here I am, dressed in my suit,
getting ready to go on stage
and perform with the Tianjin Julliard Orchestra.
This school, our professors, our guest artists,
it's all so special.
They've given us all the ingredients we need,
to create art, to create magic.
And now it's up to us, students.
I really can't put into words
how I feel when I'm on stage
performing with my friends,
but it's a reminder
that all of my work is worth it.