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The Natural
Jonah Kim, Lynn University
Jonah Kim is inside a practice room at the Lynn Conservatory of Music, poised to celebrate Chopin with the piece “Nocturne in E-flat major.” He stops short of drawing the bow across the strings of his cello and turns to the reporter seated across from him.
“This probably will tell you more about me than anything I’ve said in this interview,” he notes with obvious joy in his voice.
It certainly comes close. However, as much as his prodigious talent—which prompted world-renowned cellist Janos Starker to place Kim “at the top of his generation”—speaks volumes about his passion and purpose, there is indeed more to this remarkable story.
At age 7, Kim took his first and only piano lesson in his home country of Korea, only to hear from the instructor that he had no aptitude for music. Soon after, Kim’s father, a Christian pastor and humanitarian, handed his son a cello and told him to play it. Within the hour, the boy with no musical talent had figured out how to perform “Song of the Birds,” a Catalan folk piece and favorite of the great Spanish cellist Pablo Casals.
“It just made sense to me,” says Kim, 21, of the cello, in what may be the understatement of his young life.
Kim and his family left Seoul and moved to the United States, where Kim was accepted with full scholarship to the Juilliard School in New York. He had not yet turned 8.
“I thought I was a hot shot,” says Kim, who practiced reading the Bible in the bathroom every day so he could quickly master English. “I was loud, boisterous and a pain in the butt to all my teachers. But they taught me everything I know.”
Almost everything. In 1999, Kim would transfer to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia—on a recommendation by Starker—where he developed his love of chamber music. By 2002, at age 14, he was playing as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He admits that the attention he received was nothing short of addictive, but Kim credits his father for teaching him one of his most valuable lessons.
“He kept me grounded,” says Kim, who was invited to Lynn on full scholarship in 2008 (he studies with David Cole). “He was most hard on me whenever I played a concert, and he’d push me just a little more. That’s exactly what I needed. Otherwise, I don’t know what I’d do with the ego, which is everything you don’t want in music.”
Kim’s unbridled enthusiasm, self-admittedly obsessive personality and insatiable curiosity have led to a range of pointed opinions related to music. He believes that the student always should challenge the teacher (“That’s how the student grows.”), that his contemporaries who strive only to play clean might as well punch the notes in a computer (“It has to have substance; it has to mean something!”) and that too many of today’s “virtuoso” performers worry more about putting on a show than doing justice to the classical pieces of which he is in awe (“They’re circus musicians.”).
If you listen closely, it becomes clear that Kim isn’t passing judgment. He’s simply living his truth—and baring his soul in the process.
“I heard somebody lecture at Lynn who said that music is your profession—not your life,” Kim says. “I totally disagree. Music is my life. Otherwise, what am I doing here? This is my purpose ... I think that everyone, deep inside, wants to be this passionate about something.”
The Sister Act, Part II
Madison Pressel, graduate, Spanish River High School
Growing up on the periphery of the golf spotlight the golf spotlight that has shined so brightly on her famous sibling has prepared Madison Pressel for the inevitable comparisons in the media. But don’t think for a minute that the baby sister of Morgan Pressel, the youngest player (18) ever to win a major tournament on the ladies professional golf tour, wouldn’t mind seeing those roles reversed down the road.
“There are worse things than being compared to someone who’s done [so much] in her life in only a short period of time,” Madison says. “But hearing [Morgan’s name during an interview] does make me want to get better so that, one day, when she’s being interviewed, she’s asked about me.”
If that day comes, it won’t be because Madison, 18, borrowed her sister’s blueprint for success. Morgan, who won three consecutive state high school golf championships for Saint Andrew’s School, had her eye on the prize long before entering her teens; she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open in 2001 at age 12.
Madison, three years younger than Morgan, admits that, although she enjoyed playing golf at an early age, she didn’t take the sport as seriously. All that changed in September 2003 when Kathy Krickstein Pressel died after a lengthy, courageous battle with breast cancer.
“After my mom passed away, I realized that I wanted to play golf,” Madison says. “I know she would have wanted us to do our best. She wouldn’t have wanted her passing to taint our lives in a negative way.”
Madison’s re-investment in her golf future began paying sizable dividends during her senior year at Spanish River High School. After finishing in the top four the previous two years, Madison finally captured the Class 2A state title last December. In addition, she accepted a full scholarship to the University of Texas. Unlike Morgan, who qualified for the tour instead of playing golf at Duke University, Madison plans to enjoy her time in college before attempting to turn pro.
“I think I used to put too much pressure on myself being Morgan’s sister,” Madison says. “People knew me without really knowing me. They’d think, because of my name, I should shoot [a certain] score. I felt like I had to impress those people. But I’ve learned that the only person I have to impress is myself.
“[Will she] be devastated if I don’t make it on the tour?” she says. “Yes. But if I give it my best, then I really can’t be too upset.”
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