Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Karen Yeh. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Karen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

A risk I’ve taken recently that changed the trajectory of my career was letting go of my former dream of being in a classical orchestra. I was in high school when I decided I wanted a career in classical music. More specifically, I wanted to be a member of a great orchestra. I remember being in youth symphony surrounded by immensely talented players and performing at Carnegie Hall. It was electrifying – I loved the energy of being in a group and being immersed in the lush symphonic sound. My dream was what led me to attending music school and earning multiple degrees in cello performance. In graduate school I decided it was time to start taking professional orchestra auditions. Knowing what it required was one thing, but the reality of going through the process was another. Hours of my time were spent training in the practice room, thousands of dollars were spent towards hotels, flights, and extra lessons. I poured all my energy into being good enough for a committee, all while putting my own happiness on the back burner. I was miserable, and I didn’t want to admit it. I spent over twenty years preparing for that moment, and I didn’t want to give up. During Covid lockdown, all the auditions paused. I was forced to stop taking them and reevaluate why I was pursuing the position. I enrolled in therapy and worked through some really difficult things from my childhood. I realized that my motivation behind taking those auditions was to feel like I was enough. If I could just win a job, then I’d be good enough. Then I’d be happy. Then I’d be worthy. Once I stopped pairing my self worth with the outcome of auditions, all the drive towards being in a full-time orchestra slowly faded. I began loving myself enough to stop putting myself in a position of misery. Everything changed, and it was a very risky move because that was my main plan for earning a living as a musician. I decided to start exploring other ways to make music that filled my heart with joy. I began writing, exploring popular music, and recording for music producers working on some really cool projects. I also recently recorded my very first single which will be released in a few months. I couldn’t be more excited, and it was all possible because I took a chance on my own happiness. Walking away from my old dream allowed me to walk towards myself.

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

I am a freelance cellist based in Los Angeles, California. I started playing piano when I was 6 and later started learning the cello when I was 9. While still a graduate student in Santa Barbara, I decided to move to Los Angeles to start freelancing. I now record music for television, film, pop, and video games. Recently I played on the soundtracks for Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. I have also performed live with incredible artists such as Sting, Christina Aguilera, Smokey Robinson, and Hozier. At home I have a studio where I remote record and write music. This past year alone I found myself writing for projects that ranged from movie trailers to true crime documentaries. What sets me apart is my willingness to learn new skills that go beyond mastering my instrument. I love learning more about music production, how to make really clean recordings, shooting video, and composing. I also love collaborating with artists – whether that means improvising in the studio or writing my own string lines for their projects.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

My favorite thing about being an artist is when I feel a connection with my audience. That may be as simple as posting a video of my playing online and having it move one person. Or performing in a private concert and seeing the look on someone’s face when they are touched by a phrase. It doesn’t have to be big, but you know when you’ve created a link between yourself and the listener. That’s the whole point of creating music – to make someone feel something. Joy, remorse, anger, triumph, all of these emotions are available to us through music. I love that you can tell someone a story without using words, because music is a universal language.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

That perfection supersedes what I have to say. Classical music training is quite intense, and I was trained to drill passages in all different ways until they were flawless. That’s what was expected of me when I performed or played an audition. After all of that, I also had to be expressive and convey emotion. Due to my rigorous training, I became preoccupied with being perfect. The result was that I became scared to make mistakes on stage, which didn’t make me a convincing artist. Feeling unsafe didn’t allow me to express myself and it made it impossible to create. And as we all know, perfection doesn’t exist. I was chasing after an illusion and stifling my voice in the meantime. I had to backtrack and allow myself to be an imperfect human in order to be an effective artist. What that has looked like for me in recent years is taking breaks from playing classical music, getting out of my little bubble, and making music with artists who aren’t classically trained. It’s made me realize that there are no rules when it comes to making art. You don’t have to do things the same way that everyone else does. You can take risks, make things that don’t sound great, write your own material. I just keep taking little steps towards things that feel liberating, even if it’s not what was taught to me in school.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.karenyeh.net
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/karenyehmusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/karenyehmusic
• Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@karenyehmusic
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/karenyehmusic

Image Credits
Photographer: Mark Hanson Wardrobe Stylist: Alyssa Ren Mares Hair and Makeup: Kelly Goldsack