Among the soloists who performed in 2018’s A Taste of Music was violinist Charlotte Marckx, a junior who has been featured on Strings Magazine and NPR’s From the Top. She has also performed with her sister Olivia, a cellist, in their duo Sempre Sisters.

We asked Charlotte a few questions about music and her experience as a young musician.

I: Why did you decide to play for “A Taste of Music”?

C: Earlier this year or at some point last year, I approached Dr. Katsman about playing in the orchestra. But it just didn’t work out with my schedule because I’m only at school for a couple periods in the day…. Dr. Katsman asked me to play for the Taste of Music because I couldn’t be in the orchestra. And of course I said yes, because that was very exciting, a huge honor.

I: When and why did you start playing the violin?

C: I actually started on the cello when I was 5. My mom was a cellist, and my sister plays the cello, so I was really following in their footsteps. I was gonna get free lessons and it was going to be great. The wrench in it was that I was terrible at the cello. My mom didn’t really know what to do for a while, and I kind of just kept playing the cello, and when I wasn’t getting better, she decided that she was going to switch me to the violin…. I wanted to play the piano, but my mom decided. She didn’t know anything about the piano. She didn’t care about the piano, she wanted me to do the violin. I started my lessons and it ended up well, and I didn’t look back.

I: Why is music important to you?

C: I feel like I’ve always loved music, I’ve listened to it my whole life…. Music has a power in the world that really nothing else does. It has a power to unify people, move hearts, and connect people together to help them find each other and find themselves.

I: What are your fondest musical memories?

C:  I remember when I was little and my mom would drive me to Mill Creek for my lessons, and she would have the Barber Violin Concerto on. It was a Hillary Han recording of the second movement, and that I think is one of the most spectacular pieces of music ever written. I remember I would just sit in the car and look out the window and…. sometimes it would make me cry a little.

I also play with my sister, and we have a duo called Sempre Sisters — we just released an album, which is very exciting — but some of my best musical memories are with my sister. Even before we really started pursuing the duo, every Christmas we would sight-read Christmas songs for violin and cello. Those are some of my favorite musical memories, with the whole ambiance. I’ve never been happier.

I: What advice do you have for someone who wishes to follow in your footsteps?

C: You know, just decide what you want and commit to it. I took a long time to decide what type of music I wanted to pursue and how far I wanted to go…. I know I want to be a soloist, and it’s a hugely competitive thing. I feel like one of the best things about music is that it really gives you a chance to highly specialize and immerse yourself. For me, it’s given me a chance to be driven with my life, and from a very early age have a set plan of what I want to do.