She sets her bow on the strings, adjusts her posture and scans the sheet music from top to bottom.

For senior Chloe Chow, the bass is an instrument that allows self expression. After learning the basics from participating in her middle school orchestra, Chow furthered her skills by teaching herself the bass through books and online resources. She would then advance to the high school level, joining the Mustang Symphonic Orchestra. As of now, she is involved in the Claremont Youth Symphonic Orchestra (CYSO) as the only bass player.

“My [time] at CYSO has been enjoyable because it challenged me to improve,” Chow said. “I can say confidently that I have improved since last year where I can now play higher notes and faster passages.”

Chow is also a multi-instrumental musician, having experience in other instruments like the piano. Although she was on hiatus from playing after the pandemic struck, she resumed the piano in her sophomore year, finding her passion for piano again.

“[After] finding a private [piano] teacher, I slowly started to enjoy [piano] and would look forward to it,” Chow said. My hour with her would fly super quickly and lessons became super fun, in contrast with my childhood when it was mundane.”

Besides pursuing her musical goals, Chow participates in the Tri-M club, where she goes to Suzanne Middle School every Thursday to mentor students in the bass. One of her students made the All Southern California Middle School Honor Orchestra and is working with her to learn pieces of music such as “Sonata in G Minor” by Henry Ecceles.

“When I was in middle school, there was no one to help me play the bass,” Chow said. “It makes me happy to be there for them since I always wanted to teach younger kids what I [know].”

Recently, Chow is participating in the pit orchestra for the “Mamma Mia” spring musical and is responsible for playing chords and melodies using the keyboard.

“I think it’s really cool that we get to make all this music together,” Chow said. “Especially when we’re under the stage in a cramped setting, we’re still able to stay in sync with the cast and when you combine the singing and accompaniments, it creates some really good music.”

In the future, Chow hopes to become a piano teacher and is already in the process of auditioning for colleges such as California State University Northridge and Long Beach. As for the bass, Chow plans on returning to Walnut as an alumnus and guiding new students in playing the instrument.

“After high school and college, you need to start worrying about things like income and other adult responsibilities.[However], if I can, I want to become a piano teacher and be successful at it,” Chow said. “Teaching little kids how to
play brings genuine pleasure and satisfaction.”