“There are many reasons why I wanted to come to the University of Utah. First, it has a great pre-med program. Second, Salt Lake City is definitely the center of music in Utah. I’ve played with a lot of the music professors here. And I just love the music the city has to offer. So it made the most sense for me to come here to study music.

Salt Lake City has all the concerts. Not only have I been able to attend a lot of concerts while living here, but I have also performed in a lot of concerts for orchestras and chamber ensembles. It is so connected here, and that is really fun.

As music students, we are required to attend live performances so we can see how the professionals perform. It’s part of learning to emulate what they are doing. If you are only going to classes and practicing, you can get worn out. Attending concerts reinforces my love of the craft and it motivates me to practice more.

After I finish my undergraduate degree, I plan on going to medical school. I’ve always been fascinated by the brain, but specializing in that area of medicine requires a lot of time. Right now, I am working on getting my undergraduate degree done as quickly as I can so I can have more time to put into medical school. I’ve been able to identify a lot of fields of medicine I don’t want to go into, but I am still working on deciding what I want to do.”

— Joshua Lewis, a pre-med sophomore majoring in violin performance from Cedar Hills, Utah