Laufey

And it happened to me.

My father was working for the Icelandic government there, but my mom would sub with the Baltimore Symphony when she was there.

So I kind of got to be a little bit of an American kid for a bit, which I think having a childhood in America is really where I fell in love with a great American songbook.

I think it's one of the most important experiences that I've gone through.

I had a very deep understanding of how big the world was from a very early age because I would still spend my summers in China.

And the three are so, so, so, so different.

I think from...

What I really learned from Washington, D.C., I think especially, was just how multicultural it was.

I mean, I went to a public school in D.C., and even within just my neighborhood school, I think 90% of my class was international kids.

And I was such a naturally multicultural kid, it made me quite happy.

I also loved all the museums, and I remember going to the ballet at the Kennedy Center and the symphony, and

I just have very beautiful memories from growing up there.

And I remember moving back to Iceland when I was eight or nine.

And I remember that it felt like the world fell dark for a little bit because there was so much brightness in Washington, which sounds like a crazy thing to say right now.

But I think it really just opened my eyes up to how very big the world is.

Because Washington, D.C.

is also such a unique city within the United States.

It was really difficult.

I think Iceland is so small and it's lovely and I miss it every single day, but it was very hard as a kid to comprehend why I didn't look like everyone else or how my interests were different.

There weren't many kids around me taking a competitive pre-professional classical music route.