A Violinist at Heart
Violinist Sean Jang ’23 turns years of practice into a passion for music
BY KATE DUNLOP
In November, Sean Jang ’23 won the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) New Hampshire State Senior String Competition, advancing as a Division Finalist in the Eastern Division Senior Strings. The distinction is one of many accomplishments for the violinist that include winning the 2021 Elite International Music Competition, the 2021 Swiss National Youth Competition, the 2020-2021 Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the 2020 American Protege International Concerto Competition at Carnegie Hall, and the 2019 Taiwan International Competition.
Jang says that, musically speaking, he really likes the piece he played for the MTNA New Hampshire and Eastern Division competitions — Jean Sibelius’ “Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47.” “When I sight read it three years ago, I thought it was rather easy,” he says, “but the more I delved into it, the more I realized it may be the most fascinating piece I’ve played.” The Fifth Former describes the biggest challenge of the piece as “uncoordinated teamwork” — two competing rhythms between violinist and accompanist. He submitted his recorded entries for both competitions accompanied by organist and Director of Chapel Music Nicholas White.
The son of a professional musician and a U.N. diplomat, Jang was born in California and raised in Switzerland as the oldest of three siblings. His mother chose the violin as the instrument that best suited his personality when he was four. It wasn’t until he came to SPS, however, that Jang started to enjoy playing. In fact, he says, his younger self would be astonished by how much music has come to mean to him. At age eight or nine, he recalls, hours of practicing scales would bring him to tears. At the time, he didn’t understand that mastering those scales meant he was developing intonation. And intonation, he says now, is everything when it comes to making music.
“For most people, it’s really hard to make music. It’s hard to give your own ideas, your own interpretations, when you’re so young,” Jang says. “I didn’t realize that it was a process that took a lot of time. But as I grew older, I started connecting with making music. I thought more about the sound. When I came to St. Paul’s, music started becoming a place where I could express myself. If I have a rough day, I practice my instrument, and after an hour and a half, I’m much happier.”
Jang’s mother chose his instrument in part, he thinks, because violinists are active leaders — the concertmaster, or first violinist, serves as the primary intermediary between the conductor and the orchestra. For Jang, that trait extends to the SPS soccer field, where he plays goalkeeper, the most specialized position on the pitch. He has discovered that lessons learned on the stage help strengthen his athletic performances, too.
“From playing the violin under pressure, I have learned to compose myself,” he says. “That’s what I’ve really learned as a violinist: when you play a note, you are actually thinking about playing the next note and the way you want it to sound, and that preparation helps with your intonation. And that’s what I do with soccer. I just think about the next step.”
As for Jang’s next steps after SPS, he has options. That might mean being a concert violinist, or a professional soccer player. It might mean following his fascination with the brain to become a neurosurgeon. Or, like learning a new piece of music and diving into its depths and nuances, he could discover a whole new world to explore.
“I don’t know what the future holds, but I know for a fact that I will continue playing violin for the rest of my life,” Jang says. “Music will always be an important part of my life.”