Shenandoah University students Guang Jin and Eli Thomas were both struggling to keep up with their musical studies due in large part to the quality of the instruments they were using. Through a connection between their professor and Jenna Day of Day Violins, IiA stepped in to help.

Due to financial hardships, Guang and Eli found it necessary to borrow instruments to practice with. Guang borrowed his violin from the Dean of the college, and Eli borrowed a violin from one of his friends. Neither violin was of particularly good quality. Their professor, Akemi Takayama, became alarmed when Guang’s violin needed to be returned and Eli’s violin continued to deteriorate. Akemi and Potomac Arts Academy board member Jenna Day connected with each other and discussed the possibility of using Instruments in the Attic to assist.

With the help of Day Violins, we were able to identify and repair two quality violins that had been donated by generous community members who no longer had a need for them. These instruments were put on loan and delivered in January, to the great surprise and delight of the students, and the joy and relief of their professor.

Guang Kim is Korean Chinese. He was born and raised in the northeastern part of China and started learning violin with his aunt, a Chinese violin professor, at age 14. Guang came to United States in 2011 to study music abroad. First, Guang studied under the Louisville Symphony Orchestra violinist Kimberly Griffiths Tichenor in Campbellsville University of Kentucky. In 2015, after finishing his master degree of violin performance in Kentucky, Guang moved to Winchester, Virginia study under Professor Akemi Takayama. Currently Guang is an artist diploma student at Shenandoah Conservatory and a member of school’s symphony orchestra.
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Eli Thomas was born and raised in San Diego, California, and moved to Winchester, Virginia in 2012 to study the violin under Professor Akemi Takayama. He is currently a master’s student at Shenandoah Conservatory and assistant concertmaster of the school’s symphony orchestra, which toured Spain in 2014. He is also a member of the Bluefire String Quartet, a group that performs exciting arrangements of jazz standards as well as originals. Eli comes from a large family, with a twin brother and four other siblings living in California, and won a scholarship that made it possible for him to attend Shenandoah University. He makes ends meet via teaching, busking, and playing at weddings, and also directs a small youth orchestra in Jefferson County, West Virginia. In his spare time he is an avid bread baker and enjoys cycling when the weather is warm.

We are thrilled with this success story, and wish Guang and Eli good fortune as they strive to be the best musicians that they can be. None of this would be possible without instrument donations and financial gifts from compassionate and conscientious community members. Look for more stories about the Instruments in the Attic program and its impact on the community and the world!

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