| By Mark Strubler
Like a professional golfer who envisions the entire landscape before striking that perfect shot to the pin, a classical musician must also demonstrate that same concentration when preparing for a successful performance. Countless hours of listening, playing, and focusing are a prerequisite for success and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra seeks those who give above and beyond that requirement. With her lifetime commitment to the study of the instrument, Ni Mei, the DSO’s new violinist, fulfills those expectations.
The only child born to a musician and a dancer in Wuhan, China, Mei was always surrounded with music. “Music is a big part of our lives. A person can’t live without music, even if they are not a musician,” she says.
Mei knew music was in her blood when she started studying the violin at the age of five with her father. “It’s like a little treasure box: hearing a piece of music, you don’t want to let go of it because you know it’s too precious to give up.” To her father, it was a gift he had always wanted to give her.
At the age of 10, Mei auditioned and was accepted into the prestigious Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she studied for 11 years. Before receiving her master’s degree from Rice University in Houston in 2004, she was at the University of Kansas for two years studying violin performance. While at Rice, Ni was offered a one-year contract with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. There she was able to gain valuable learning experience in a professional orchestra. Looking at the current state of music education in all countries, Mei notes, “A whole world of music should be placed before students so they are able to choose from the many genres, including classical music.”
As the child of two performers, music has always been a part of Mei’s life – she even spent some of her childhood living in an apartment next to a theater. However, half-empty concert halls were common in China during Mei’s youth, as the cost of admission was a luxury for many people. This was discouraging to musicians – particularly Mei’s father. When hearing about his daughter’s acceptance to the DSO, he was thrilled and proud. He hopes to visit America soon to see his daughter perform with the orchestra to a full house.
Though Mei can be her harshest critic, she is able to pick out her best performances. While on the way to a competition in San Antonio, she developed a severe headache and had to have her car towed after it broke down, but she made it to the competition. She remembers playing Eugene Ysaÿe’s Solo Sonata No. 2 when she arrived. During her performance, she says she felt relaxed, having such great control of her hands. Despite the dire day, she went on to win the competition.
Such competitions seasoned her for something greater in her career. After hearing a recording of the DSO with Neeme Järvi, she knew this was a professional orchestra with high standards. In October 2005, Mei came back to Detroit for her finals audition performing a Mendelssohn violin concerto and Brahms Violin Concerto No. 4. “I just wanted to play and communicate; to get through to those who were on the panel that this was the place I wanted to be. I wasn’t worried about getting the job, enjoying the sound of the hall was all I thought about,” she recounts.
In China, Mei studied at the Shanghai Conservatory with fellow DSO violinist Yin Shen, who happens to be her best friend. Being in Detroit and finding someone who is close to her is a dream come true, something she never thought would happen.
Aside from playing in the DSO, Ni enjoys reading novelists José Saramago or playwright Samuel Beckett on the comfy, round chair in her Northville home, swimming, walking, and watching animé and foreign movies. One of Mei’s goals is “being O.K. in tennis,” which she is able to practice often.
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