If creativity is adjusting and persisting in the face of the unexpected, Music & Music Education doctoral student Tammy Yi is ideally suited to 鈥渕otivate and educate teachers to teach children to be creative people.鈥� Yi鈥檚 parents left Korea for the United States but struggled in low-paying jobs. Both their daughters were musical, but Yi eventually gave up violin lessons so her sister could pursue a concert pianist鈥檚 career. She taught herself guitar and other instruments and dreamed of leading the first Asian-American punk band.
After 9/11, Yi joined the Navy, supported her parents and earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree, studying music education and violin. 鈥淚 had lost so many years and had always struggled with traditional violin playing, but I was inspired to give children the self-confidence and creative freedom I鈥檇 never had.鈥� Emphasizing the teamwork and discipline she鈥檇 learned in the Navy, Yi created an award-winning children鈥檚 orchestra and conducted it at venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.
At TC, backed by an Irene Geffen Fund scholarship and mentored by Professor Lori Custodero, Yi has created a violin program at the 51吃瓜网 Community School supported by TC Trustee Emerita Enid (鈥淒inny鈥�) Morse and her daughter, Trustee Leslie Nelson.
鈥淢usic teaches children about possibility,鈥� Yi says. TC and the Geffen Scholarship have taught her about that, too.