We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Charlotte Loukola. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Charlotte below.

Charlotte, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

The first time I remember saying I wanted to be a violinist was when I was quite young, maybe somewhere around 4th grade or so. Of course this kind of thinking is coming from a child and it hasn’t always stayed so clear to me, but I think I’ve subconsciously always known that I want a more creative career. I’ve never dreamed of a ”regular” 9-5 job, my dreams have always been out of the ordinary. When I was a teenager in high school, I used to play with the thought of becoming a business owner. I still think this is a very cool idea and maybe it will become true sometime later in life, but right now I’m very focused in my musical career. Or maybe later on I’ll combine these two and create some sort of music related business!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I began playing the violin when I was three years old. I continued my musical education at the Sibelius Academy pre-college department and after finishing high school in Finland, I moved to Cleveland, OH, to complete my Bachelor’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Professor Ilya Kaler. After 4 years of living in Cleveland, I moved to New York City to pursue my Master’s degree at the Juilliard School, studying with Professor Masao Kawasaki. I have one more year left at Juilliard and I should graduate in May 2024. Very exciting times!

I think one of my strengths as a musician is how versatile I am. I play classical music for private events as a solo artist, in different kinds of chamber music ensembles, I play with orchestras, and I play in many different benefit concerts (supporting causes that I find are important and dear to my heart). I also play non-classical music! This upcoming Christmas season I will be working in the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular Orchestra at Radio City Music Hall and I’m very excited for this opportunity. I look forward to getting the chance to play some non-classical music while at the same time still getting to work on my craft at school. I watched the show last Christmas with my family and I remember the pure joy the audience had when watching the show. I’m beyond grateful that I get to be a part of this wonderful production this year!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

A story that comes to mind is about the year I applied to graduate schools. My roommate and I were both violinists in the same year, so we were both going through the application processes together. In addition to applying for grad schools, we were also applying for different summer programs. Throughout the year we would get results from these different applications that we did and she got a yes from almost every single thing she applied to (good for her!) and I got a no from almost every single thing I had applied to. It got to be so much, that her mom got me a necklace with a positive and uplifting message on it, because she was so worried about how I was holding up with all the rejections. Of course this was difficult for me, and I battled with a lot of thoughts regarding if I’m good enough and what am I doing wrong to get rejected from what felt like everything. I had to keep applying to different summer programs and I had to persist with my college applications even though I felt like giving up on so many different occasions. Throughout this year, I held on strongly to my belief that every person has their own route that is meant to be for them and that each rejection is just redirection. Then finally we got to April and I found out that I would be starting my Master’s studies at the Juilliard School in the fall, and that for the summer I would be flying to Italy to serve as the concertmaster for a production of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. So in the end everything turned out great and exactly how it should’ve been, but there were plenty of moments of doubt along the way. I think the lesson I learned throughout this experience was to never give up, and to work very hard.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I absolutely love music and I think that if I was locked in a cell by myself, I would somehow find some sort of way to make music. It’s such a core part of my self expression and how I process the world around me. With saying that, I think the best and most rewarding part of being a musician is that I get to share music making with others. Whether it be in the form of playing concerts for a live audience, sharing the stage with my colleagues, teaching somebody the art of playing the violin, or just simply sight-reading some stuff with my peers, I think the connection with people is what I thrive off of when working in music. I believe music brings joy and comfort to the world, and I absolutely love sharing this with people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.charlotteloukola.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chillaa1999/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-loukola-23b23321b/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLoaagzHtBV5f2B2vqGPLyQ

Image Credits
Diego Redel, Jyrki Loukola