![]() ![]() “He knows what to say to get a certain sound out of my playing.”ĭeak once asked Chen to imitate a volcano on the piano, and at first, she was cynical, but then it amazed her how well it worked. “He’s so knowledgeable and inspiring,” Chen said. “Her career is so inspiring she’s the goal of the perfect clarinetist.”Ĭhen admires her piano teacher, Zachary Deak. Sercel’s “biggest inspiration” is her clarinet teacher, Helen Goode-Castro. While she loves teaching the younger children now, “it’s not always the best time when your five-year-old student is rolling on the floor… it does happen!” She looks forward to expanding her teaching experience to older, more advanced students like her mother.Ĭhen and Sercel are full of gratitude for the dedicated professors at Cal State LA. Sercel dreams of being a professional classical clarinetist - making orchestral work and chamber music, recording for film scores, and teaching.Ĭhen looks to a similar future but in the pianist capacity. “I have a much stronger social life that I would have had in high school because such a closely knit group,” Sercel said.Īfter they graduate, Sercel and Chen plan to pursue master’s degrees in music. Within the broad music department, they appreciate the ability to expand their social network because “music is all about connections.” They can take practice rooms and many compelling classes, like composing and conducting. For her, that’s full-time clarinet.Ĭhen and Sercel relish their time in college by taking advantage of all the resources offered through the College of Arts and Letters at Cal State LA. Sercel believes the point of EEP is to study something she’s passionate about, so she can fully engage with the enriching college curriculum. “I come to school, and all my classes are music related. She applied to Cal State LA at 15 and began studying music, at a college level, in 2019. There was no Mozart in the marching band, which didn’t nourish Chen’s skills as a classical pianist. They didn’t go to high school because they chose to skip ahead to college. ![]() They’re both students from the Early Entrance Program (EEP). Chen dropped out, and Sercel didn’t go at all. What makes the stories of these two musicians even more unique is that they didn’t even finish high school. “I have always loved music,” Sercel said. The clarinet became her main hobby, and when she got to college and started imagining what her life would look like afterward, being a musician was what appealed to her most. Immediately, she felt a connection to the music she could create. Sercel, a senior clarinet major, first took a liking to her instrument as part of the school band in fourth grade. ![]() As a piano teacher, her mom constantly had students coming over, so Chen was exposed to music as soon as she came home from the hospital. But there’s more to these two music majors than meets the eye.Ī senior piano major, Chen first sat on the piano bench with her fingers grazing the keys when she was three years old, but she feels she was practically born to play. Chances are, you’ve strolled through the music building courtyard on a Monday and relished the lovely tunes that Emily Chen and Erin Sercel create as part of the Cal State LA wind ensemble. Walking around the sunny campus grounds of Cal State LA, you’ve passed thousands of fellow Golden Eagles on their way to class. ![]()
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