Special to The Swellesley Report courtesy of the Wellesley High School Bradford and Parents of Performing Students (POPS). This is one in a series of POPS Senior Profiles we’ll be publishing.
Orchestra and Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, as well as the All Eastern All States
orchestra (courtesy photo).
The lights dim in the Katherine L. Babson auditorium as the audience settles into their seats. Musicians on stage in long black dresses and suits straighten, waiting for their conductor to signal start. On his right sits Asia Foland, the principal cellist of the high school’s Honors Chamber Orchestra (HCO), her bow poised to burst into sound.
Foland connects with people through her music. In addition to the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, she has played in HCO at the high school. In those four years, she’s made a tremendous impact on the orchestra, her peers, and her mentors.
“The way she interacts with people makes you feel like you are her closest friend. She’ll remember random things that you’ve mentioned once before,” said Alexandra Lee, another member of the high school’s Honors Chamber Orchestra.
One of Foland’s biggest musical inspirations was one of her summer camp coaches at New England Conservatory (NEC).
“I did a summer orchestra camp at the New England Conservatory (NEC), and so I was with a lot of really good cellists. Our coach, Aristides Rivas, was a really good cellist, and he held us to really high standards,” said Foland. “He had us play a mock audition in front of everyone, and I was one of the youngest [cellists] there. I was terrified, but I think it was good to play for people that I admired, and I ended up getting feedback from him. So I would say that being around those musicians was a big inspiration for me, and also having him as a coach.”
Her strong technical and leadership skills establish her as a role model and inspiration. With her musical prowess, Foland is a valuable and reliable member of the high school orchestra.
“If she has a different opinion, I always try to listen to her,” said Sergey Khanukaev, conductor and teacher of the middle and high school orchestras. “I should be prepared better. So I need to go deeper in the music material and to be ready to answer any question.”
“Asia is an inspiration to everyone in the orchestra. She brings her best to class every day and brings suggestions on how we can improve our performance,” said Anish Sankar, violinist in HCO and one of Foland’s peers. “She’s taken more of a leadership role as she’s now the principal cellist. She encourages us to play our best and enjoy orchestra class.”
current principal cellist and right hand of the conductor (courtesy photo).
Foland’s musicality and interpretations bring out her personality and emotion in each piece.
“She uses something called rubato. I believe it’s where you stretch out some notes and make [other] things faster.” Lee said, “Basically, don’t play completely steadily to add emotions, which is important. The piece itself is basic, so she makes it more interesting,”
Outside of music, Foland is an avid reader, baker, and writer. She as one of the class of 2025’s officers and the club officer of Red Ink, the high school’s literary magazine. For the past three years, she has been learning about and advocating for prisoners’ rights at the Prison Book Program, which welcomes the donation of books to prisons and educates volunteers about the American prisoner system.
In the fall, Foland will go to Harvard University where she will continue to enjoy cello as a hobby. She hopes continuing her music will help her make friends and keep the music flowing.
“I would say I’m more thinking short term with college right now, I definitely want to keep music in my life in college. I definitely want to join an orchestra and a chamber group. Besides being able to keep that musicality in me, it’s a really good way to meet people on campus and have something in common with them. I don’t think I’m gonna go professional with it. More long term, I would like to keep it as a hobby, because it’s a skill that I’ve spent a lot of time on that I really enjoy. I feel like I would be missing something if I let it go,” said Foland.
Article written by WHS Bradford Co-Features Editor Grace Zhao ’27 and Staff Writer Jacey Weng ’27
Leave a Reply