In my earliest memories of learning music, I remember my mother beside my piano every day. She would help me to read the notes and clapped the tempo as I played along. She sat with me in my lessons every week and listened to what my teacher said, learning with me so she knew how I should improve each week.

he most recent standout in my life recently was going to Europe. For the first time I was able to see the origins of the music I had studied for so many years. I spent time at the graves of the composers and walked in the streets they did. In Bonn I saw where Beethoven lived and the room in which he was born, even the last letters he ever wrote. I could understand the historic depth and weight of the pieces I played.

What always fascinated me about music, and what inspires me to play, is how it is really just a journey into and from the mind—we are able to delve into the psyche of the composer through their music and incorporate our own thoughts and emotions into the music. Furthermore, when we play, we are part of the storytelling that we communicate to the audience.