The Red & White

Whenever I sit in a Chapel, staring blankly at the magnificent ceiling, my brain muffles. I hear a beautiful voice that pierces through my clouded head. It’s Juno Conwell ‘26’s violin. I would have thought I heard the voice of angels if I didn’t know her.

A senior with nearly a decade of musical experience, Conwell has been playing both piano and violin since childhood

“My mom was a musician,” she says proudly, “She wanted all of her kids to play music, so we started on piano. But I was really drawn to the violin; I told her I wanted to play, and she got me one. That was it.”At first, music was more of an obligation than joy. “When I was a kid, it felt like so much work—daily practice, long lessons,” Conwell admits. “But after a while, when I started to improve, I began to really love it. You reach a point where you don’t have to be told to practice anymore. You just want to.”

Today, Conwell often performs during chapel, where she improvises her own melodies on the spot. “I listen to the chords and come up with something that fits,” she says. “If it doesn’t sound good, I just switch notes fast in front of everyone,” she laughs. “I think being born into a musical family helped me find self-expression through sound,” she adds. “Once you stop worrying about playing everything perfectly, you start playing honestly.”

Although her playlists include artists like Daft Punk, Conwell’s heart is rooted in the classical tradition. She remembers performing Csárdás by Vittorio Monti, a lively piece inspired by Hungarian folk dance. “It’s classical, but it has this wild, traditional energy. I love that,” she says.She also believes that playing older pieces keeps history alive. “Repeating a piece from the past is still art,” she says thoughtfully. “You’re giving voice to the work someone poured themselves into. That act of recognition is beautiful.”

Conwell doesn’t plan to pursue music professionally, but she can’t imagine life without it. “I’d love to keep playing in an orchestra or teach violin someday,” she says. “Even if it’s not my career, it’ll always be part of me.”

Her musical philosophy is simple but mature: “Work hard, but have fun,” she says. “Once you build the skill, music becomes joy. That’s when you can play pieces that are really emotional and meaningful.”

Her words linger like a final chord. Whether it’s a chapel improvisation or a late-night practice, her violin isn’t just an instrument. It’s a voice that continues to evolve, one note at a time.