About me
My name is Emma Hogge, I’m a Tuba-Performance major with an emphasis in cognitive musicology, and also the photographer for the BYU School of Music! I have been an aspiring musician for 11 years now – since my 6th grade introductory band class. Being born and raised in Anchorage Alaska, any opportunities for exposure to orchestral or professional musicianship were rare – forcing students (like myself) to blaze our own paths towards mastery. This was also the case for my creative pursuits, experimenting with photography for years until I was able to have a professional opportunity that diversified my skillset.
Learning from Failure & Mistakes
From an outside perspective, I may seem like someone who succeeds at everything I pick up and try. The real truth – years of failure, missed perspective, wrestling with discipline, and so, so much hard work. As musicians, we know how much mental, physical, and spiritual dedication our craft requires. I am no stranger to the fire that forges each and every one of us – yet, unlike some, my biggest opponent in my musical journey has always been myself. Wrestling with finding the will to practice, riding off of natural talent, missing opportunities because I didn’t put the work in, having to fix habits later rather than take the time to learn it correctly, initially. There have been so many road-blocks I’ve had to overcome throughout my journey as a Musician, each requiring extreme personal effort and dedication to make the change, to choose to become better. I’ve failed so much – and sometimes absolutely miserably (ask me about the “Alessi Incident”), yet, here I persist. I once saw a TikTok commenter saying “I wish I could make my art look like that. Maybe, one day. One day.” to a skill they desired to have, in order to realize their creative dreams. Another commenter responded with something so simple yet so profound, of which summarizes my ethic: “Day One.”
Question, Hypothesis, Experiment, Data, Conclusion.
Many people have asked me how I remain so optimistic amidst the struggles and difficulties I’ve had to overcome throughout my life. Naturally, my disposition is hopeful and strong-willed. I want to succeed, and I know I can. This belief has pushed me forward towards the future – alongside a work ethic that closely resembles the scientific method. Identify a problem or a weakness, research ways to improve upon it, attempt the suggested improvement plan, review how it helped or didn’t help, and repeat the process until success is achieved. This requires the will to reach out for success, to strive, to achieve. This will can be intrinsic, or it can be built upon by great effort. Just as the universe around us revolves in constant cycles, so can we improve continuously through a cycle of growth. One major word of advice; while you’re on the long road to mastery – never forget your own humanity. Take a break, go make memories with friends, say yes to those last minute plans once and a while. The Hogge motto: Work hard, Play hard. I have a relentless work ethic, but I’ve had to learn to respect and maintain the body as well as the mind. You can change the world, you can serve others with your talents, but in order to do so, you must allow change within yourself, maintain yourself, and most importantly, know who you are and love who you are. A final thought to leave with you all – this is what Momma Hogge would tell me before every single one of my performances: “Remember who you are, and what you stand for. Now, go show them who you are.”