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Welcome back to the Tomkins Orchestra podcast! Today, we are sitting down with a musician who—according to his own college essay strategy—is the "best violin player in the entire universe".

While he might be joking about the universe, Arjun is a legitimate four-year All-Stater, the concertmaster for the Houston Youth Symphony, and a state-level chamber music champion. But don't let the resume fool you; this is a journey that began with Arjun "kind of hating" the violin after his mom signed him up for lessons.

In this episode, we’re pulling back the curtain on the glamorous life of a top-tier musician, covering everything from:

• The psychological horror of recording for All-State versus playing for a live judge.
• The tragic "inside second violin" experience where you're forced to pluck while everyone else gets the melody.
• How to survive the "shaky bow" syndrome that hits even the best players.
• And actual, practical wisdom on why you should probably stop mindlessly playing through your pieces and finally turn on that metronome.

Whether you're looking for tips to level up your own playing or you just want to hear Arjun get playfully grilled by hosts Vicky and Rithik, you’ll want to stick around for the full story of how this "inspirational" musician made it to the top.

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What happens when our two podcasts hosts are "unconducted" and off script for the whole show? Well, if you check this episode out you will find out!

We hope you enjoy these random musings during your spring break time off from the regular routines of life!

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Welcome back to the Tuning into Tomkins Orchestra podcast. In this special episode, Rithik sits down for an exclusive interview on the San Antonio Riverwalk with Dr. Kilburn, a guest conductor for the All-State Sinfonietta Orchestra at the All-State convention.

Dr. Kilburn, who teaches at Michigan State University, discusses the unique challenges of conducting an ensemble where students from diverse backgrounds must "gel" and build an ensemble culture in a very condensed period of time.

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