I co-founded the Glenbrook Chamber Music Society (GCMS), a youth-run organization in the Northbrook / Glenview community dedicated to “sharing music, enriching our community, and inspiring excellence.” My inspiration for starting GCMS began during my chamber-music experience in rural France, where I learned how powerfully music can connect people of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures.

As Vice President and Executive Music Director, I help lead our musicians with passion and purpose. Through GCMS, we bring chamber music to churches, senior living centers, and community venues, offering free concerts and outreach events for audiences who might otherwise never experience live classical music. I believe deeply that music has the power to unite — and I hope to continue sharing that spirit of connection in my own community.

On May 9, 2025, our chamber group Quartetto Speranza had the great honor of participating in the Fischoff PACMan Program as Peer Ambassadors for Chamber Music. We visited Ballard Elementary School in Niles, MI and spent a meaningful hour with 2nd and 3rd grade students, introducing them to the world of classical music through live performance and fun, interactive conversations.

Their faces lit up with wonder, and their excitement during the Q&A made us realize how powerful and life-changing a single performance can be. That morning reminded me that music education begins with curiosity — and that young audiences are often the most honest, joyful listeners we will ever meet.

Since 2022, I have served in my church’s Music Ministry, playing the violin during weekly Mass and special services. Through this role, I have come to see music as a form of care within ritual and community.

At a Healing Mass, I performed Amazing Grace as a solo. After the service, an elderly woman told me that the music felt healing to her heart, and others thanked me for offering comfort through sound. I also participated in a Pan-Asia Mass, where worship was shared in many languages. Accompanying the choir and performing a solo showed me how music can transcend culture and language.

These experiences shaped my interest in Medical Anthropology by revealing how healing and care are often expressed through shared cultural practices beyond clinical settings.