As Tai Caputo ’25 stepped up onto the conductor’s podium to tune the All-State Orchestra for the first time, she was amazed by the size of the ensemble. Over 200 musicians from across Iowa were looking back at her.

“There’s a never-ending amount of stuff that I could work on, elements that I could improve. And I think that’s really inspiring,” Caputo said.

Caputo has been playing violin for 10 years, and her attitude is one of continual improvement. Caputo was recently rewarded for this effort by being made concertmaster at the Iowa All-State orchestra. This means she is the best high school violinist in the state of Iowa.

“I really wasn’t sure what would happen, because auditions are very unpredictable. I was elated,” Caputo said.

A violinist at her level also needs an inspiring teacher, and Caputo regularly travels the more than two-hour commute to Decorah, Iowa for her lessons with Dr. Joseph Kromholz, a professor at Luther College.

“[My teacher] is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. I’m so grateful that he exists in my life,” Caputo said.

As well as her inspiring teacher, Caputo’s dedication to violin has helped her get where she is with violin now. She tries to practice for more than two hours every day.

“I think consistency is probably the most important thing when practicing because otherwise, it’s just hard, and a lot of musicians, they dread practicing,” Caputo said. “I find it reassuring that I always am at least making small improvements.”

As well as being a high-level violinist, Caputo is also the Opinion Co-Editor of City High’s student publication, The Little Hawk. One article she wrote, Goals Should Be Impossible, talks more about violin and what inspires her to keep improving. In her free time she loves listening to classical music. Currently, her favorite violin soloist is Anne-Sophie Mutter.

“I love Anne-Sophie Mutter because her tone is very rich and full, and she is super expressive, uses a lot of glissando, and sometimes manipulates intonation to create phrasal tension,” Caputo said. “She is a unique player whose tone is easily recognizable and whose interpretations stand out.”

Right now, her favorite composer to play is Johann Sebastian Bach. And recently, when Caputo won the Music Teachers National Association Senior Strings Division Competition in Iowa, she performed a Bach Fugue.

“There is something about Bach’s pieces, especially the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin–which I’m currently working on–that makes them seem harmonically and structurally perfect. I sometimes find myself getting tired of other pieces, but I rarely get tired of Bach. His works are profound; they are larger than life,” Caputo said.

Beyond high school and college, Caputo isn’t completely sure what she’ll do. However, there is one thing she is certain of.

“I want to continue violin in college. And beyond that I’m not really certain, but right now I know that I definitely want to [keep improving],” Caputo said.