Nathaniel Marko ‘23, has been an active member of the PCM community ever since he was 3 years old, when he enrolled in the Young Musicians program. He went on to study violin with Mary Kelly and then Patrick Rosalez, with whom he studied until he graduated in spring 2023. While he misses the PCM community, he’s grateful that the many years he was a part of it developed a strong foundation for interdisciplinary exploration at Brown University where he plays football and is studying literary arts while also taking advantage of their open curriculum to explore philosophy through mediums like visual arts, poetry, and music. He’s also become interested in music production.

This interview was done on 7/10/24 and has been edited for length and clarity.

You were part of PCM since you were 3 years old, up until your senior year. Now that you’ve just finished your first year of college, what do you miss most about PCM?
I took the Young Musicians classes when I was 3 then started violin when I was 5 so I was a part of PCM for a long time. I miss the community because I met a lot of people and made a lot of friends. And my teachers had a lasting impact on me. I was with Mary Kelly for the majority of my time there during my developmental years and she was great. Then I had Patrick Rosalez who was like a father figure for me. He obviously was a great violin teacher, but also helped me work out stuff in my personal life. Every Thursday I would come in and I knew I had somebody I could trust. He was a great guy to have as a teacher.

How was your first year at Brown?
I entered as a philosophy major because my main passion in life is figuring out why I’m here – which is something I will never answer – but I ended up switching my major to literary arts. Philosophy in academia felt too rigid so I veered towards art because that’s how I can best express philosophy and what I think about the world. So I’m doing a lot of visual arts, writing, and continuing music as well.

What type of studio art do you do?
Art wasn’t something I was interested in in high school so I’m just recently picking it up, but I’m mainly working on digital art, street art, and foundational classes. I’m still finding my medium but Brown is a very good place to explore.

How did studying music help prepare you for Brown, and what music skills show up in non-music areas of your life?
Purely musically, all the scales and arpeggios I learned when studying violin are really helpful for the electronic music I’ve been working on. I have a good ear for music because of all the drills and technical elements I learned. Beyond the technical stuff, music has helped my listening skills because you have to have an ear to hear when you’re playing over someone or hear where everyone else is and then adjust, which I guess is what social interaction is all about.

How does music show up in your life now?
I haven’t been playing violin as much since I got to college. Even though I’m taking a break and seeing where that goes, music still influences my life a lot. I’ve been working on electronic and ambient stuff because producing is something that I want to get into, either as a career or a hobby. And PCM serves as the foundation for that. Even though you don’t need to have prior instrumental experience or understanding to produce, it really helps.

How do you hope music will show up in the future for you?
It would be really cool to get a producing career or something adjacent to that. I also want to keep violin in my life even if it’s just a hobby. It’s something that I worked on for so long and was really passionate about.

Music allows for spontaneous creation and I want to hold on to that. The ability to pick up and create music even if you’re just hanging out with friends is really beautiful. And that’s something I can do because of the opportunity that PCM afforded me.

Who are some of the musicians you like to listen to?
I’m a huge Aphex Twin fan and want to get an Aphex Twin tattoo. They’re a very influential, enigmatic persona as well. Also Tyler, the Creator, MGMT, Bad Bunny, Tame Impala, and Cocteau Twins. I still listen to some classical music, too.

What are your plans for the rest of your time at Brown?
I’m going to try to pursue that literary arts degree and do poetry, creative writing, or free-flowing journalism. But also I have time to explore more. I’ve also been playing football at Brown, which has been a lot of fun.

Anything else you would like to add?
PCM gave me a very solid base foundation. It was a big part of my life, upwards of 13 years. The people that I met, the community that I was a part of, my teachers, Ms. Kelly and Mr. Rosalez, were all hugely influential in my life and that’s something that you just can’t replace. Their guidance and their words will serve me for a long time.