University City sophomore Zoe Baldwin opted to attend Clayton High School after interacting with CHS students in music programs through the St. Louis Youth Orchestra. Baldwin felt that the orchestra program at University City was not at a level that could improve her skills.

“Everyone was just learning how to play the instrument, and very few people had private lessons. It was very basic learning, and people weren’t trying. When you only learn in a group setting, without individual attention, it’s hard to improve,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin believes the Clayton orchestra will help to prepare her for her future violin goals.

“We can get work done. For me, it’s really fun. I think the orchestra does a really good job at making sure we know everyone.” Baldwin said.

Kurt Baldwin, Zoe’s father, is a cello professor at the University of Missouri St. Louis and the cellist for the Arianna String Quartet in St. Louis. Baldwin’s mother also plays as the second violinist of the Arianna String Quartet. Watching her parents play helped to further her passion for violin.

“It was really helpful for them to encourage me to practice. When I go home, music is a really big part of my life, and it’s always around me.” Baldwin said. “I’m appreciative that I chose violin. I love the repertoire and the pieces that are written for violin.”

Baldwin wishes people knew the amount of practice she puts into her work, and this is not parent-driven. She often hears people say she has an advantage because her parents play music. Baldwin, however, does find one advantage.

“It is nice to be able to talk about violin to my mom,” Baldwin said. “She can understand [playing violin].”

As the workload from school has increased in recent years, Baldwin finds it more difficult to manage her time between violin and school. After school, Baldwin practices upwards of an hour each day.

“The minutes matter so much during the day I have to stay disciplined. In the last competition I did, I had a violin lesson and my violin teacher wanted me to learn a really contemporary, hard, modern piece. I only started practicing the piece I was playing for the competition the day before the competition. I didn’t win the competition,” Baldwin said.

After playing violin for 11 years, Baldwin had to learn how to accept criticism. At 12 years old, Baldwin started studying violin with St. Louis Symphony Orchestra First Violinist Angie Smart, who has a reputation for being tough.

“After my first lesson, I came home and cried because there was so much I still had to learn. It’s such a part of the culture of violin playing. You learn to accept it over time. There’s definitely moments I feel personally criticized,” Baldwin said.

After high school, Baldwin plans on pursuing music and getting into a conservatory. She hopes to find one with a good violin teacher who will help build on her skills. According to Minnesota Public Radio, 3,000 music performance majors graduate every year from American colleges, and there are only 150-269 open positions in orchestras.

“Auditioning for college is a really big process,” Baldwin said. “I’m really interested in chamber music [so] forming a string quartet would be the long-term goal. I know for a lot of people fresh out of college, there’s no place for a string quartet to play. Teaching private lessons is something that interests me.”