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Tessa Seymour

Biography

Highlights of Young Scholar Experience: Tessa Seymour calls her years in the program “a blessing.” In addition to all the doors the program opened for her, Tessa is most appreciative of the counsel and friendship of her Foundation adviser.

Profile: Tessa has jammed a lot of living into her seventeen years, not to mention a lot of performances at musical competitions around the globe. The virtuoso who learned to play the cello at an early age, will be leaving the Bay Area behind and heading to college in Philadelphia to improve her already remarkable musical skills. “My passion is playing the cello,” Tessa said. “When I began to play at the age of six, I knew instantly that it would be my goal to become a soloist.” Mission accomplished.

Inspiration: All of Tessa’s teachers have inspired her, she said, but being a classical musician she is influenced most by the composers who write the music that she plays. “When I study their music, I feel like I am bringing their personal stories to life.” She is also inspired by her audiences. “When I perform, my music becomes theirs. In fact, whenever I play I literally feel like I am handing the audience a piece of my soul.”

Aspiration: To play the cello every day and to bring joy to those who listen to her perform.

Making a Difference: Tessa is well aware of the gift she possesses, the gift to make beautiful music on her cello. And she gives back to the community. In the past she has performed recitals to raise money to bring music into elementary schools the Bay Area, as well as recitals at retirement homes and for patients at Stanford University Hospital.

Accolades: August of 2009 was a special time for Tessa as she was awarded the Prix Firmenich de Violoncelle at the Verbier Festival. The award is presented to the most deserving cellist age 30 and under at the international music competition in Switzerland. Earlier in her high school career she won the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition and was also accepted as a semi-finalist candidate in the Rostropovich International Competition in Paris, one of only 75 cellists from around the world to receive such an honor. She has also been honored by the Y.E.S. Foundation for the Arts, the Pacific Musical Society and received recognition in the Felix Khuner Competition.

Interesting fact: She named her cat “Itzhak Perlcat” after the famous violinist Itzhak Perlman, “because I believe that my cat has a deep understanding of classical music!”
 

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