For many of us, music is a guiding light, an unparalleled force that has shaped the very fabric of our being. Whereas passionate and active listening can unlock creativity and introduce us to new ideas, playing an instrument teaches us valuable lessons about patience, perseverance, collaboration and community. Whether you’re picking up a guitar or immersing yourself in a world of music theory, the seemingly magical properties of this art form are unlike any other.
Here in Beijing, Crescendo Music Studio, owned and operated by Wang Yi and her husband Nico Torrese, plays a vital role in exposing both Chinese and expat children to the wonderful world of rhythm. We spoke to Wang about how Crescendo got started, how it’s helped shape the community, and about balancing parental duties with being a small business owner.
Zoe (R), Nico (in back with glasses on head)
Please introduce yourself, and let us know where you’re from! And of course, what instruments do you play?
I am Wang Yi, the owner and manager of Crescendo Studio. Many people know me as Zoe. I am 37 and I’ve played the accordion since the age of 4. I’ve taught music for over 15 years in Beijing, and now I mainly teach piano and music discovery. My husband Nico is French, he is a guitar player and teacher, based in Beijing for 16 years. He’s taught guitar since 2005.
Can you tell us a little about Crescendo? How long have you been in operation? What do you do? How did it start? How has it grown over the years?
I founded Crescendo three years ago with the help of Nico. It is a music training studio for children and adults, located by Sanyuanqiao. We wanted to have a bigger space to teach in better conditions, with more equipment in order to develop our teaching activity. We now work with five other teachers: we provide piano, drum, guitar, ukulele, singing, accordion, music discovery, and music theory classes. Crescendo Studio is growing slowly but consistently. I also work as a music discovery teacher in international schools in Beijing.
Did either of you have jobs before opening Crescendo? Is this a passion project, such that you left behind another career to pursue this one?
I am a professionally trained musician, and graduated from the Music Institute of Tianjin. Nico used to work as a journalist back in France. He’s now a full time musician and teacher here in Beijing. We met in 2007 to play a concert together and we never stopped. Today we still perform together and work hand-in-hand every single day.
Did you face any difficulties when starting Crescendo? What’s it like opening and operating your own business?
The main difficulty was, and still is, to have Crescendo known: always tricky when you open something from scratch, even if most of our previous students have followed us. We have to communicate clearly and try and reach out to new families all the time. Social networks help us a lot, but we also have to be careful not to overwhelm people with our activity.
We also wanted to open dance classes, but the activity has been very slow since there are dozens of dance schools in Beijing. We decided to stop that this year and to focus on the music. It’s been a good choice.
The other difficulty is to find, and keep, good teachers. We now have a good team of experienced teachers from France, USA, Ukraine and China.
Zoe, with daughter, Suzan, and two other students
How old are your kids? Is it tough to balance parenting duties with being a small business owner?
We have two girls, 7 and 4 years old. They go to school, they both take music lessons at Crescendo, and so far we can balance happily our parent life and professional activity. But it is hard to spend more time with the girls during weekends since it is the busiest time of the week for us. Also, we do not take lots of holidays, three to four weeks per year: music education never stops!
What is your philosophy behind music education for children?
Make children like music, know it and understand it. And, most important, give them the taste of learning, practicing (not so obvious on a daily basis), and performing. Our job is to help them improve.
I’m assuming you play a pretty important role in the community. Can you talk about what that’s like?
Hard to say that we play an important role in the community. But what we can tell for sure is that the biggest part of our reputation comes from the families, foreigners and Chinese. They are our best promoters as long as we are consistent about the quality of our work. We can thank them here for their support. Over the years, some students and parents have become real friends. We are always proud to see students growing up and improving: some of them were 5 or 6 years old when they started learning with us, and they’ll go to university soon. We have shared a big part of their life.
Do you have any advice for other parents who might want to start their own business?
Get a good idea of your project, based on a real passion and experience. Do not count your time and always try to think ahead while focusing on the daily work. We have found out that our best periods of activity have been prepared months ago.
Crescendo Music Studio is located at Haocheng Plaza, Floor 13, Zuojiazhuang Zhongie No. 6
For more information, scan the QR code below.
Photos: Courtesy of Nico Torrese
