My parents first exposed me to classical music in elementary school. I remember sitting on the passenger seat with my siblings and listened to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony through the car’s CD player. Then when I was nine, my parents had me and my siblings play the piano. For a while, I went along with the Royal Conservatory of Music’s syllabus. Grade by grade, I would proceed, learning how to play notes with both hands and to affect how loud or softs the notes would sound. I kept going at this for about three years until my younger brother started playing pieces outside his assigned level. He started wowing my parents and his friends with his technical wizardry. 

I wanted in on the harder pieces he was playing. The pieces he played, from Beethoven’s Für Elise to Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu, captivated me. The technical ability and emotional capacity required to make the melodies sing and the harmonies resonate inspired me to follow in my brother’s footsteps. So I started playing a few difficult pieces of my own, including Chopin’s Waltz in E flat major, Op. 18 and Mozart’s Alla Turca march from his Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K. 331.

The trading of pieces like this led to an unofficial arms race between us. We would give friendly jabs at each other and encourage the other to keep playing more difficult pieces. That path led me to a hobby where I spent countless hours preparing for the diploma piano exam, competing in local and regional piano competitions, and performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto in a minor Op. 16 and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto in c minor Op. 18 with various orchestras.

Now, I still play the piano, both for leisure and performance. It also helps me regain inspiration to write the stories that matter in the life sciences.