By Mark Taylor

You might call it a musician’s worst nightmare: losing the ability to play your instrument. That is exactly what happened to SFCM’s Alyssa Tong, when an injury forced her to put down her violin for months. But Tong turned that downtime into an opportunity, launching String Insiders, an organization dedicated to helping young musicians through coaching, community, advice, and even its own music festival.

“It happened from over-playing and not listening to my body, specifically the signs of overuse,” Tong said of her injury, which started in late 2018 with tendonitis in her left wrist and shoulder pain and worsened. “It ended up becoming so bad that I was forced to stop playing for three months,” she added. 

Having played the violin since age 5, Tong was frustrated with not being able to make music, “My mom suggested that I continue being involved in the music world, even if I couldn't play,” Tong said. She took her mother's advice and started the Strings Virtual Summit. “It took a lot of rejection, a lot of frustration, a steep learning curve, and a ton of time,” Tong said. But it ended up resonating with young musicians.  

That first online conference in 2019 included 30 professional musicians who discussed their career paths and gave advice about practicing, finances, and artistry to young musicians. “Approximately 1000 people tuned into the conference and I made wonderful connections with many professional musicians from across the world,” Tong said. 

Image

In 2020 when most music festivals were canceling, Tong saw an opportunity to launch her own, with the first Online Solo Strings Intensive (OSSI), a two-week program for students to connect with top-tier teachers and other talented colleagues. It also proved to be popular, with the audience growing to more than 2600. “It has bridged the gap for many students who, locationally or financially, aren't able to attend some of the major music festivals and is still running even as we emerge from the pandemic,” she added. 

The festival is returning this year, from May 29 to June 12, and is taking applications until April 15. Students get lessons from highly regarded professors on professional development, overcoming stage fright, managing money, and overall career advice, “The program is growing every year, with over 100 students at each session, and the level continues to get higher, which is pretty amazing to witness,” she said. 

Today Tong has recovered from her injury with rest and physical therapy, but she is still mindful when playing. “If I'm not careful and don't listen to my body, I develop some pain in my left wrist. Luckily, I'm pretty good about being able to realize when I'm approaching my limit,” she said. She is currently a graduate student working with Professor Simon James at SFCM.

For the future, Tong hopes String Insiders continues to grow and inspire other musicians to get better and aim higher, “My goal with String Insiders is that people will be inspired to think outside the box and not be restricted by the typical career path of a string player,” Tong continued, “I also want to give students access to teachers and resources that aren't usually accessible.” 

Losing the ability to play was a difficult experience for Tong, but looking back she believes it helped her understand that even when something may seem like a major setback, it can be turned around, learned from, and can even lead to something beneficial, “It's usually not the way that you think, or the way that you planned, or maybe even the way you want things to be, but often turns out to be what was meant to be,” she said.

Learn more about studying violin at SFCM.