Sophomore gets musical tattoo to remember concert pianist past
Connor Martin | Staff Photographer
Jolanis Alexandre has competed in many piano competitions, including in the NJ Music Teacher Association Competition and in the Golden Key International Competition.
When Jolanis Alexandre was 6 years old, her mother put her in piano lessons so she would have an extracurricular activity. At first, Alexandre needed her mother’s reminder to practice. But in high school, Alexandre began to really love the instrument and started working at it herself.
This past August, Alexandre, now a sophomore music performance and political science major, got a tattoo to commemorate her love for music and the piano. It’s a heart composed of a treble and bass clef on her left upper rib area.
A treble clef and a bass clef are two of the most important symbols in reading music, and piano is one of the only instruments that uses both.
Once Alexandre started loving piano, she really threw herself into it. From seventh to 12th grade, Alexandre attended Westminster Conservatory in Princeton, New Jersey, a music school where students met every Saturday to prepare for a college music school.
“Essentially, I went to school six times a week,” Alexandre said.
Connor Martin | Staff Photographer
Throughout her life, Alexandre participated in classical piano competitions. She won first place in the New Jersey Music Teacher Association Competition as well as the Golden Key International Competition, which she won two years in a row. Because of these wins, she was able to perform in Carnegie Hall and at the Lincoln Center.
Although she is a music major, Alexandre does not intend to pursue music as a career after college. She said that she knew she wanted to continue playing piano at a high level, but never wanted it as a career.
After college, she intends to attend law school, which is part of the reason Alexandre wanted a tattoo to represent her love for music.
“It’s something that I want as a reminder as I go through life and that even though I don’t want to have music as a career that it is something that I do love,” Alexandre said.
Alexandre explained that she loves the connection that music brings to different people of different cultures.
Said Alexandre: “I believe music is universal language, and I’m just happy that I can essentially speak it with my piano skills.”
Published on April 12, 2016 at 12:01 am
Contact: lmeyers@syr.edu
