Music is a staple of the lives of many WHHS students. Every day there are hundreds of students walking the halls with earbuds, AirPods, headphones and other music listening devices. Genres of music expand as new artists and producers push boundaries to excite audiences, and the takeover of techno and trap often leaves classical music in the shadows.

Christina Nam, ‘20, and Maxwell Fairman, ‘22, are two violinists at WHHS who have dedicated years of their time in order to express the beauty of classical music for audiences around the globe.
“Violin is basically my life at this point. That’s what I want to do in college, as a career, and so I guess that’s my goal. That’s what’s keeping me going. I love it,” Nam said.
Competition and performances are a critical part of being a musician: adrenaline, nervousness, practice and possible stage fright all come together in one moment. Making the best of this moment can set up a musician for a bigger and more competitive performance or competition, but can also break them.
“I think there’s more tension in competitions. But I think I’ve learned how to control that now so it’s a lot easier. I used to [imagine the audience naked]. It just takes your mind off [the tension],” Nam said.
Becoming internationally recognized is a dream for many musicians, and Nam has accomplished this feat, five times. Nam competed at the Menuhin Competition in Geneva, Switzerland, one of the most prestigious competitions in the world, often called the “Olympics of Violin.”
On Geneva, Nam said, “The city is very beautiful. The weather is very nice. Food is amazing. Everyone is generally nice. There was this really big fountain… It’s amazing. The background, I forget which mountains they were, but it’s [beautiful] scenery. So sightseeing.”
Many athletes and musicians say that a major key is to start young, and this rings true for Maxwell Fairman, who started playing violin at four years old. On how he came to pick the violin, “I was on a vacation, [my family] went to Detroit, my relative played a lot and I got to try a bunch of instruments. From there I just continued playing the violin,” Fairman said.
Fairman, still growing in his musical career, has played at the White House in front of former First Lady Michelle Obama, his favorite performance to date. In addition, Fairman was one of the top winners at the American Prodigy Competition, and along with the other winners, performed at the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City.

While connoisseurs of classical music, Fairman and Nam both actively remain engaged in modern music as well. Fairman listed many types of music he enjoys listening to, including “Baroque Instrumental, Impressionist, and of course, 90’s R&B.”
These WHHS violinists will continue their daily three to four hour practice in order to better themselves as hardworking individuals and their musical career. Both musicians seek to pursue their dreams of becoming professional orchestral and chamber musicians, and are well on the track to achieving their academic and musical dreams.