PBS Wisconsin Music & Arts

[gentle violin music] - I'm Arisa Okamoto.

I am a senior at Brookfield East High School.

I have been playing the violin for 14 years.

Although my parents don't play an instrument, my brother actually plays the piano.

Last year, we did a little community concert at the church in Wauwatosa.

I have been studying with Ilana Setapen since I moved to the U.S., so it's been about a year and a half.

- Can you try it one more time?

– Arisa: She is very energetic.

- Did you hear the magic in that one?

It was SO magical!

– Arisa: She taught me how to use vibrato effectively and how to open up my sound to convey my story to the audience.

I'll be performing the first movement of Sibelius' Violin Concerto.

The shimmering beginning makes me think of a lonely bird in the icy cold, vast landscape.

But as the piece progresses, the bird finds its accompanist and flies across the sky.

I took it personally because moving to the U.S., sometimes I feel lonely.

But I always find myself having family and friends supporting me.

I enjoy baking bread with my family.

I really love the comfortable, warm scent when it's ready to get out of the oven.

I kind of see the similarities between, like, music and bread.

Depending on how you approach the piece and what you're thinking about or how you're feeling, the outcome is very different.

The SUPREMES program is a year-long program at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

We go into scientific labs to do our own project.

- Dr. Kajana: That helps you navigate.

– Arisa: I'm working with Dr. Kajana from VA Medical Center.

And my project is about how different classical music affects the respiration rate.

I always thought that music has, like, a very strong power to connect people.

But I really felt like science visualized the spiritual power that music has.

[ending note]