I am a third-year physics major from Berkeley, and I currently play piano in one of the Jazz Ensemble’s combos, as well as playing bassoon in the Chamber Orchestra. I grew up in a musical household, where I was exposed to a wide variety of genres and styles of music-making. I studied several instruments earlier in life, before settling on piano and bassoon in middle school, when I also started playing jazz. In high school, I played each year with one of the five teacher-directed big bands, as well as various combos. In this environment, I got to play with a wide range of really wonderful musicians, allowing me to fully fall in love with jazz; I even had the chance to play live on air for KCSM’s Jazz on the Hill program! After coming to UCSB, I keep finding even newer ways of enjoying this music.