For Fangchi Koss, first came Melody and then Symphony.
Koss’ sister gave birth and named her daughter Melody. Koss loved the name, but didn’t want to give her soon-to-be-born daughter the same name, despite her future cousin’s living across the country in Washington, D.C.
Koss searched through baby books looking for a unique name that jumped out at her, but couldn’t find one. Koss, a music lover who is known to sing around the house, chose Symphony.
Some 15-plus years later, Symphony Koss is living up to her name.
“People always ask me about it,” she said of her name. “This year, I think three of my six teachers commented on it the first day of class.”
The Columbia River High School freshman has played violin and piano since she was about 4 or 5, and on Jan. 18, she won the Northwest Division of the Music Teachers National Association’s Junior String Competition. She is one of seven finalists who will compete in the national competition April 2 in San Antonio, Texas.
“I’ve gotten really serious in the last two or three years,” Koss, 15, said. “I play every day now. I enjoy it more. I made a switch to where I want to play and achieve for myself now.”
The switch came in seventh grade, she said, while playing with the Portland Youth Philharmonic.
“I was playing with so many musicians who were around my age and who were really great,” she said. “It was inspirational to play with a lot of people who were better than me. It made me want to get better.”
Steady progression
She started going to competitions a year earlier, when she earned an honorable mention as a sixth-grader in the Music Teachers National Association competition. Koss bumped that up to an alternate selection the following year. As an eighth-grader, she won the Oregon state title at the competition and was named an honorable mention in regionals.
Koss competes in the Oregon state competition because that’s where she studies with Kathryn Gray, an Oregon Symphony player who has taught Koss since she was 7.
As she was growing up, Koss said, there was usually music in the house, whether from her mother or her older sister, who also plays violin and piano.
“It makes the house less quiet,” she said. “It’s also given me a stage presence. If I have to make a presentation in class or speak in front of people, I don’t really get nervous for things like that anymore.”
Koss, a member of Columbia River’s Pre-International Baccalaureate program, also enjoys running, painting, baking and acting in school plays. College is a few years away, and Koss isn’t sure what she wants to study. She has thought about minoring in music, but even if she doesn’t, she knows it’ll stay in her life.
“I’ve done it so long, it feels weird to not play, even for a few days,” she said. “I can’t imagine stopping.”
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