From Vietnam to Round Top Via New York

As the Festival Hill Music Festival reaches its halfway mark of the program, the performers are getting better acquainted with one another and the beauty of Round Top.

Hagan Tran, a violinist who just graduated from the Eastman School of Music in upstate New York, is enjoying her first time in the South.

“It’s such a unique experience,” Tran said. “Not only because of the warm weather and climate, but also just being surrounded by nature and the vast amount of open land.”

While many locals are taking cover from the heat this time of year, Tran has decided to use the outdoors to her creative advantage.

“It gives me a lot of creativity to do something with my craft and allows me to be inspired by the nature I’m surrounded by,” Tran said.

Tran is originally from Vietnam but grew up in Singapore before moving to the U.S. when she was 15-yearsold. She started her musical journey at age five, being in-spired by her older sister who was taking lessons at the time.

“She was taking piano lessons in the living room, and I would always disturb her lessons because I was very interested and wanted to join,” Tran said. “My parents then decided to take me to a music after-school program, and that’s how I got started.”

Because of her sister, the piano is the first instrument that Tran was drawn to, but her music teacher had a different idea.

“I was trying out the piano, and the teacher told me that my hands were too small and weak,” Tran said. “Then they asked me to try the violin.”

Tran is planning on pursuing her master’s degree at the San Francisco Conservatory this fall with hopes to be a professional orchestral musician.

“I knew what I wanted to do quite early on because I have a lot of passion playing in an orchestra,” Tran said. “I love being in an orchestra and just having an opportunity to hear a full symphony and being able to be a part of that would be amazing.”

When trying to decide on a festival to participate in this summer, the one stationed in the small town of Round Top made a big impression.

“I decided to join Round Top not only because of the faculty, which is a big thing by itself, but because of the program and the curriculum they do here,” Tran said. “It creates a lot of opportunities as young artists and musicians to be able to grow and explore our career.”

Having performed three of the six concerts in the program so far, for Tran, nothing beats the initial performance of the festival.

“It was such an exciting experience,” Tran said. “I was excited, emotional, nervous and having fun all within a span of two hours.”

The participants in the festival spend a lot of time together over the course of the program, and not only will each performer walk away from their time in Round Top with an increased level of musical experience, but the friendships built between them will leave a lasting impression as well.

“I’ve been here for three weeks now, and I’ve been able to know more people and connect with them while we play music,” Tran said.

The final concerts for the Round Top Music Festival will be taking place on July 11 at the Round Top Festival Institute at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at www. festivalhill.org.