Following musical dreams

Charles Seo, a senior at The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and a scholarship recipient of the nonprofit Music Doing Good, performs at an award ceremony. He will attend The Colburn School on full scholarship.

Music runs in my family. My mother was a church pianist, and my dad played the trumpet. During church services as an infant, with no one to look after me, I would lie underneath the piano my mother was playing and enjoy the music, never crying. I believe this is where I got my musical talent. Despite my parents’ love for music, they were extremely disappointed and upset when I told them that I wanted to major in music. They wanted me to become a doctor, lawyer or engineer. However, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I finally convinced them by reminding them that my Korean name, Chanyoung, means “to praise and glorify the Lord’s name with music.”

I was in the 10th grade when I made that decision. Ever since, I started entering local concerto competitions and won a lot of them, one by one. By the time I became a senior, I had won first place in all the local competitions in Houston, so I started applying for bigger, international competitions such as the Ima Hogg Competition. I thought, “Why not give it a try?” I had no idea that I would make it into the semifinals. Soon, I will be competing with professional musicians as the youngest competitor. I was also invited to participate in two other prestigious international programs, Stulberg International String Competition and the Irving M. Klein International String Competition.

I believe I arrived at where I am today because I had many helping hands. My mentor, Brinton Smith, is more than a teacher to me. He is like a father to me, and he taught me so many things, not just about music, but about life. I believe that once an individual finds what he wants to do, he should try his best to achieve that goal. Many obstacles may block his path, but he must not give up. I will continue to work towards my own goals, and I hope to become a person who can help students who are in need.

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