“Too young to bring about change, we brought about disturbance.”

“[My mother] believed we could each change the world, but what convinced me this was possible was music.”

“This is a work of memory -- facts have been altered. Names have been changed.”

“More so than with any other instrument, the violin becomes part of the body. Good musicians are physically dissolved when playing, and for violinists, who cannot see where to place their fingers and have nothing to guide them through touch, music must be more than ever about memory than fingertips and breath; the ventage is deeper, more of the self, closer to singing.”

“There are times when we need the rocket fuel of singing and dancing to power us through an act of blind faith. Falling in love is one of those times, when we need to move into a phase of enchantment with enough force so that when things cool and the air clears, we are locked into that person, that love. We fall in love and we sing as we walk down the street; we turn up the music and dance.”

“We reveal something of our nature when we sing, something that can be disguised in our speaking voice.”

“I got to know [teen music] as we absorb music in passing but can remember only its seriousness and weight.”