Cheryl Lu- Full Article

Welcome to High Notes!

I suppose you could say I grew up around the backstage for most of my life. My grandfather was an accomplished Peking Opera playwright, and he often took me to see performances when I was little. After each show, I loved running backstage into the dressing rooms. I was always curious about what was going on behind the curtain. I guess that’s why I still enjoy and thrive in the backstage world.

Music has always played a big role in my life. Like many Asian kids, I started learning piano at the age of five. When I was ten, I switched to the harp because, well, too many people played piano, and it just wasn’t cool anymore! From seventh grade through college, I played the harp in the school wind orchestra for ten years. Since there wasn’t always much for the harp to play in a wind orchestra, I also learned percussion. After all, if there weren’t enough notes to play on the harp, there were always things to hit! I still remember the first piece I rehearsed with the orchestra was The Phantom of the Opera, which later became one of my favorite musicals. I guess that was a pretty good start! One of my favorite sounds in an orchestra is the moment when everyone tunes their instruments before a rehearsal or concert. There are so many different sounds happening at once, and somehow they all come together in a way that feels both complex and harmonious. I could just drift away with it.