The sounds of strings plucking, woodwinds bellowing and piano dampers creaking surrounded senior Amber Lea’s ears for the majority of her life. Lea is capable of playing a total of eleven instruments: piano, violin, clarinet, french horn, mellophone, trumpet, ukulele, guitar and traditional Korean instruments such as the taepyeongso, jindobuk and janggu.
Lea was introduced to sheet music at the age of five when she began playing the piano and violin, according to Lea.
“I started out loving it because I was like, ‘I’m doing what my brother’s doing, this is so cool,’” Lea said. “But then after a while I realized that you actually have to practice, and you can’t just rely on good vibes. You have to read music and do music theory. So after that I was like, ‘Oh my God this is like this is more like math than music,’ so I started to dislike it.”
To combat her growing aversion for music, Lea said she adjusted her mindset and sought out pieces that interested her.
“I started listening to music and then playing it myself instead of just reading music that was given to me,” Lea said. “I think that kind of sparked more of a passion for music.”
But playing two instruments was not enough. After hearing “Rhapsody in Blue,” a clarinet solo, Lea began playing the clarinet. Her ability to adapt to new instruments quickly is a clear indication of her passion for music.
“Her passion for music–it’s so infectious, and it’s great to have that on the team,” senior Jesper Nguyen said. “Her passion for whatever she does, it is so loudly expressed.”
She picked up the French horn in sixth-grade, and she is now working towards mastering the trumpet, according to Lea.
“This is kind of a weird experience I had, but during this summer I spent a long time in complete isolation,” Lea said. “So I didn’t use my phone, I didn’t use my computer, I didn’t use anything, but I just had this one CD player with one CD that was 12 trumpet songs that I would listen to on repeat every single day for like a month or two. From then on, I brainwashed myself into needing to play the trumpet.”
This year Lea has applied her vast musical knowledge as a student in the Portola High music department. She is currently a member of the Jazz club and even plans to create a mariachi band, according to Nguyen.
“She’s been showing up to competitions to support and is just one of our biggest advocates out of the actual program,” Instrumental Music Teacher Mathew Distante said. “So it’s been really inspiring seeing somebody that is so passionate about music that had to step back for a little while and is finally stepping back into the role.”
Whether it is getting involved with clubs, competitions or managing to teach herself another instrument, Lea has shown her immense talent and dedication in the world of music.
“I’ve always had this image in my mind of what I want to do with music, and it’s just really motivated me to achieve more and play every instrument I can and just get as good as I can,” Lea said.
