Meet Charlotte Loukola | Violinist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Charlotte Loukola and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Charlotte, what do you attribute your success to?
I believe there are many factors that have greatly contributed to where I am now. I’d say the first thing that really affected the course of my life is my family. My parents have worked a great deal in order to help make my musical career look like what it looks like right now. When I was young, I told my parents that I wanted to be a violinist, but without their help and guidance I would not be where I am right now. There are many things my parents recommended I do in order to further my musical career. I started attending international competitions, music festivals and playing in international orchestras in middle school. This was a crucial step towards an international career. It would be very difficult to begin broadening your CV at the age of 22 if there’s nothing international in there by then. I’m very grateful for my parents for nudging me to do international musical activities. To help all of this happen, it was my mother’s idea to have me partially home schooled during middle school. All my extracurricular activities would not have been possible had I been in school full-time.
I also have been fortunate enough to have had many great mentors around me and a lot of flexibility from people involved. I grew up in Finland in a city called Jyväskylä. My hometown is situated in central Finland, but the country’s best music school is located in our capital, Helsinki. This meant that for six years I travelled 3,5 hrs one way for my weekly lessons at the Sibelius Academy. In order for this to be possible, I skipped a lot of school days and did most of my homework during the train rides. If my middle and high schools wouldn’t have been so flexible and supportive with my passion for music, I’m not sure I would be where I am today and I definitely wouldn’t have had such a happy childhood/youth experience that I had.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It has not been easy to get where I am today, there have been many long hours spent alone in a practice room while my peers have been out hanging with friends. I learned a lot about patience and self discipline during those times. It has taken a lot of sacrifice to be able to pursue my dreams at the level which I am fortunate enough to be able to pursue them at. I moved from Finland to the US at age 18 with two suitcases and my violin. I think it takes a certain type of personality to leave your (small) home country so young and to move across the Atlantic to a completely different culture. I remember sitting at the airport waiting for my flight, opening an envelope my mother had given me when my parents left me at the airport. The envelope had a letter and a few photos of me and my family. I still have those photos and I cherish them every day. They are such a cute reminder for me of what is important to me and that I have that endless support regardless of what happens. Despite the many sacrifices I have had to make for music, I do strongly think that the payoff has been great and I wouldn’t change a single thing. I am very happy with my life now.

I have always deeply enjoyed music. It has been the vessel for me to express things I couldn’t express through words. From a young age, I have enjoyed all different genres of music and I believe this is very apparent in the music I love to play. I think my all-time favorite concert I played in was a duo concert with Hannah and we played a concert with some easy to listen to music with a few audience favorites popped into the mix. Probably the best piece we played was Jealousy Tango by Jacob Gade! My parents also made sure to have a lot of humor in our household and made sure I didn’t take life too seriously, so I think my relaxed attitude towards life is also evident in my playing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I just moved to New York City a few weeks ago so I am still very new to the area! However, I would recommend checking out the mandatory tourist spots, like the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and Central Park. So far during my time in the city I have absolutely loved discovering small hidden gems in the city. This would include exploring some cute small cafes, board game shops, book stores etc. If my friends were to come to the city, I would definitely take them to a rooftop bar during sunset, just to enjoy the beautiful views the city has to offer!

However, if I had it my way, I would take my friend to visit Finland. The country is full of so many interesting and unique things that I think we would have plenty to do for a week. If they came and visited during the summer, we would spend time swimming in lakes, going to the sauna, and staying up late enjoying the nightless nights. If they came during the winter, we would go skiing, go visit Santa Claus in Lapland, and we would enjoy the 23 hour darkness with some hot chocolate and warm fuzzy socks. Possibly have a snowball fight!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
In addition to thanking my family for their constant and endless support, I really want to thank my private teachers and friends for their encouragement. My undergraduate teacher, Mr. Ilya Kaler, really took my playing to a whole new level and I feel like he also gave me room to start exploring my artistic voice. I really want to thank Hannah, my friend, college roommate and quartet mate, because she really helped me become the person I am today. Hannah believes in herself very strongly and some of her confidence drizzled into me too. I don’t think I would’ve applied to half of the things I have applied to without her in my life. She is partially the reason I am now doing graduate school at Juilliard. She has always encouraged me to believe in myself.

Website: https://www.charlotteloukola.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chillaa1999/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLoaagzHtBV5f2B2vqGPLyQ