Flautist Alina Chen holds herself to an incredibly high standard, which is perhaps why she has been recently accepted into one of the most prestigious music schools - Juilliard in New York.
Speaking to Bryan Crump the young player outlined the excruciating selection process - and the considerable hoops to jump through for scholarship consideration - at the end of last year.
"Honestly, I was not the most happy with my application. I did a lot of silly things in my final year of high school."
Such as ...?
"I was very, very, busy in year 13, and so I left the application process to the last minute. I did all of the recordings and learnt some of the pieces the month before. I did not feel as though the recordings were my best."
Alina Chen has been accepted into renowned New York performing arts university, The Juilliard School. Photo: SUPPLIED
The selection panel, however, clearly thought differently, and invited Chen to audition live at the school. She said she was fortunate to be able to stay with her sister - a Manhattan attorney - who lives a mere 8-minute walk from Juilliard's front steps.
Chen said the city was typically busy, but "probably one of my favourite places that I've visited. It was very, very diverse, just walking through the streets ... You see so many different people."
She noticed a lot of music and culture spilling on to the streets in the Juilliard vicinity.
Chen was battling nerves and on an emotional rollercoaster in the week leading up to the audition.
However, some well-timed "tough love" brought her out of her funk.
In rehearsals with her accompanist she admitted to feeling "kind of spacey", and was told in no uncertain terms that she couldn't afford to bring anything less than her A-game to a Juilliard audition.
"Hearing those words, and the tone she said it in, brought me out of my anxious state."
After learning a huge amount of repertoire, Chen said the audition itself only lasted about 10-15 minutes. Chen made it through to the second day of auditions and following that, she and her family went to Disney World to celebrate.
Then it was six long weeks back in New Zealand waiting for the outcome. And when it came?
"It didn't really register, even still now, it doesn't really hit me that I'm going to Juilliard."
