Laura Park (Violin ’16)
Interviewed by Diana Wensley
Communications and Marketing Manager
Curtis Institute of Music
April 14, 2021
DW: So Laura, your big news is that you were recently accepted to Harvard Law School. Congratulations!
LP: Thank you! I’m looking forward to meeting different kinds of people and being exposed to different realms of information.
DW: How did you react when you heard you got in?
LP: Right after I received the acceptance phone call from Harvard, my mom told me that I had jumped up and down in exactly the same way when I got into Curtis. I remember feeling a similar mix of delight, disbelief, and incredible luck.
DW: Practicing law seems like a big shift from playing the violin. What motivated you to make this change, and why now?
LP: I like solving problems and have always enjoyed analytical reading and writing. For a long time, I thought that the world of law was completely removed from what I do as a violinist. But at the start of my career as an orchestral musician, I quickly learned that this was not the case! I was inundated with numerous contracts, agreements, bylaws, and policies, and though I didn’t always understand the paperwork that I was reading, it became very clear to me that written provisions underlie every element of performance work.
I had started to cultivate an interest in the kinds of documents that facilitate organizations to do what they do when the pandemic lockdown hit D.C. last March. Force majeure clauses were invoked for both of my orchestras, and I was inspired by the work of lawyers that were negotiating on the musicians’ behalf to secure some kind of pay and protection. I realized that I wanted to be on their side of the table, helping in a tangible way. With performances at a halt and nothing but time, I suddenly had an environment conducive to studying and putting my applications together.
DW: I know Harvard is similar to Curtis in terms of selective admissions rates. What did you do to get your applications ready? Do you think auditioning for top music schools and orchestras in the past helped you?
LP: I’d say that the preparation portion is similar, in that both music and law require an investment of time and effort — for music, I prepared my audition repertoire, and for law, I studied to take the LSAT. Law schools have rolling admissions, which is definitely different from music and makes for quite an interesting couple of months of waiting by the phone and refreshing email inboxes. Another difference is that for music, I knew that the bulk of the decision would be based on how I actually performed on the day of my audition. While applying to law schools, all I could do was submit an application package that represented me in as comprehensive a way as possible, and then hope for the best! Of course, some schools asked for interviews, and I actually enjoyed that part of the process the most, as it was most similar to the performance aspect of auditioning.
DW: Are there any other parts your Curtis experience that you think will transfer well to a non-musical setting?
LP: Curtis taught me a lot about time management and the kind of perseverance and passion necessary to achieve peak performance within high-pressure situations. There are also so many other elements of performing that I think will translate into law. During the practice stage, musicians research, analyze, evaluate, and ask questions. We curate, collaborate, criticize, and compromise. We publicize and prepare. And at the end of it all, we stand onstage, demand attention, and advocate for ourselves and our music. These are skills that are naturally built into the Curtis education and can be used for just about anything else.
DW: I’m sure your coursework for the next few years will keep you busy. Do you expect law will be your number one priority going forward?
LP: Though my scheduling priorities will probably shift, I will always consider myself a violinist and hope to never stop performing. I’m excited because I’ve heard that Cambridge/Boston has a great chamber music scene, and I hope to get involved if people will have me!
