Stories of Perseverance
Created by: Evan Bach
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (Cause and Effect)
Whilst at Juilliard, Nadja's ability began to decline, she noticed that she was not able to play the pieces she used to be able to such as Carmen Fantasy. As a result, Nadja's confidence began to decline. Feeling that she wasn't good enough to play the violin, Nadja stopped playing for seven long months. During this period Nadja continued to go to lessons, but did not play the violin. Because of this, Nadja's teacher threatened to kick her out of lessons. Knowing that she needed to get back into playing the violin, Nadja signed up for the Walter W. Naumburg competition. This caused Nadja to feel that she needed to practice a lot in order to preform well. Nadja started practicing 13 hours a day and living like a hermit with awful eating habits. Nadja was one of the fifty violinists that auditioned on May 25, 26, and 27, 1981. Nadja's AMBITION proved helpful, she advanced to the preliminary stages and was one of the thirteen people that advanced to the semi-finals. The day of the semi-finals, May 28th, Nadja went to the Merkin Concert Hall. Nadja decided to play the Prokofiev first. She played well and went on to play the Carmen Fantasy. The afternoon after the semi-finals Nadja was evicted. Nadja begged her landlord who eventually let her stay for a short time. Nadja got back to her apartment in time to receive the call that informed her she had made the finals. Nadja played three pieces for fifty five minutes in the final at Carnegie Hall. She later went out to lunch with her friends and returned to the competition. After a long wait the competition director went up to the stage to announce the winner. Nadja was sitting with her friends and looking at the floor when the director announced her name. She had won! Nadja was shocked that she had TRIUMPHED.
Nadja went on to have a very successful career. Between September 1981 and May 1982 Nadja played a hundred concerts in America, one in Europe, and two months of summer festivals. Nadja had found what she loved to do.
Maury Wills (Description)
Jamie Vardy (Sequencing)
Caine's Arcade (Problem and Solution)
Oscar and Lorenzo (Compare and Contrast)
Work Cited
Oscar and Lorenzo
Davis, Joshua. Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.Maury Wills
Kersey, Cynthia. "Maury Wills." Unstoppable: 45 Powerful Stories of Perseverance and Triumph from People Just like You. Naperville, IL: Source, 1998. N. pag. Print.
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
Beatty, Jane N., and Arthur N. Applebee. "Nadja on My Way." Literature and Language. Evanston, IL: McDougal, Littell, 1992. N. pag. Print.
Jamie Vardy
Neil Ashton for the Daily Mail. "Jamie Vardy Reveals Troubled past Made Him the Player He Is Today as Leicester City Forward Prepares for England Bow." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 04 June 2015. Web. 23 May 2016.