Loriane Ribadeau Dumas (17) is one of our first English Plus students this summer. She just graduated from high school in France and is in the English Plus Music program. For her, the program has a nice balance of English courses, music lessons, and performances for her to attend. She takes oboe lessons a couple of times a week in the afternoon at Page Music on Newbury Street. She also attended concerts at Boston Symphony Hall, Berklee School of Music, and Institute of Contemporary Art. She is an aspiring classical musician and has been learning the oboe for the past 10 years. She fell in love with the sound of the oboe and knew that was the instrument for her.
I am very happy that ELC has the English Plus Music program because when I was looking for schools online, I was hoping to find a program that offers both English and Music lessons, and ELC was exactly what I was looking for. Since I am only in the US for 3 weeks, I didn’t want to only study English. The studio of my music lessons is next to Berklee School of Music and I’m always exploring in that area before and after my lessons.
My favorite concert was at Symphony Hall listening to the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Tanglewood in the City. The concert started at 8pm, but the audience was able to enter at 6:30 and listen to performances by current students in the Tanglewood program. When the concert started, there was a big projector screen that showed the whole orchestra performance. The camera would zoom in on the performers and it really felt like we were there. We probably saw the musicians more clearly than the real audience at Tanglewood (located in the Berkshires)! I also went on a whale watch over the weekend and that was the most amazing experience I had. We saw almost 10 whales on the trip! They were so big and so beautiful to see, I was in awe. I asked some of my friends if they wanted to go, but it didn’t seem like they were interested. I ended up going by myself but I don’t regret anything, it was perfect!
I love the word “rainbow”. In French it’s “arc en ciel” meaning arc in the sky. I think rainbow sounds so much more beautiful!
Unfortunately, I don’t like American food very much. At home I love to eat pasta, and I know there is Little Italy here, but I heard the food is not very authentic. Most of the time I eat salad and fruit because I love fresh fruit and vegetables. Sometimes I will eat a hamburger, but I could not eat it every day!
Speak less of your own language so you don’t stay in a group from the same country. It’s natural to want to be with people you are familiar with, but it can limit the people you meet.
I will be back in France for the next 2 years preparing for auditions to music schools. My dream school is the equivalent of New England Conservatory here in Boston. In the future, I hope to join an orchestra and become a professional musician. In high school, I had the opportunity to work with a city orchestra for 10 days. I was one of 4 oboists selected for the program and we worked with a professional conductor. It was a fantastic experience for me because I got to meet all the musicians in the orchestra and understand the life of a professional musician.
