Tayja “T” Sallie has been a prominent member of the music department throughout his time at Swarthmore, and has a unique connection with his passions and the work he does. Known as a performer, composer, and linguist, T is active all around campus. His upcoming senior recital on April 12 — at 3 PM in the Lang Concert Hall — will contain several of his compositions for solo cello and chamber groups, the premiere of a solo cello piece with orchestral accompaniment, and the first movement of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1. 

T began his music journey when he picked up the cello in the second grade. He says, “I was living in Minnesota, and I had just switched schools to enroll in a newly created gifted program, and the school was also starting an orchestra. I went to the open house, expecting to get a violin . . . My mom convinced me to choose cello instead, which saved all of our ears.” After moving to Massachusetts in 4th grade, T participated in the Great Woods Symphony Orchestra at Wheaton College, and later became involved with Boston’s Project STEP (String Training Education Program). Speaking to his passion for music, he says, “Something I love about music is the way that it can convey emotions in a way that words cannot; often when I have strong feelings eating at me, I will start composing a piece, and as I work through the piece, I work through processing my feelings as well. Sometimes I'm oblivious to the process though; in the morning I might start creating a really depressing piece that makes my family look at me sideways, like ‘You okay?’ and I'll think I'm completely fine, and by the end of the day, I'll realize that it was reflecting my mental state the entire time.”

T has been a part of numerous activities on campus. He frequently performs in Lunch Hour Concerts, participates in the Fetter Chamber Music Program, plays at WaR3house 3 (a local music venue in Swarthmore), is a member of the Lab Orchestra, and leads the cello section in the Orchestra. He has also acted in multiple theater productions and is involved with the Taiko Ensemble, Offbeat Acapella group, Chinese Music Ensemble, and played varsity basketball for two years. In addition to his contribution to the music scene at Swarthmore, T is an active member of the Linguistics Department. Having studied Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, and American Sign Language, T’s love for language has flourished at the College. For the past two summers, he was a part of the Middlebury Language Schools Italian immersion program—hosted at Bennington College in Vermont—where he reached the highest level offered to undergraduates and was recommended to pursue a masters through their language program. 

T’s various studies have intersected in his degree: a special course major in Linguistics and Languages. Speaking about his initial plans for his degree, T says, “I came into Swat considering a major in Chemistry, but that fell through after my first-year second semester of Ancient Greek course conflicted with the first semester of Organic Chemistry. I realized I had to make a choice,” and T chose Ancient Greek.  This led to his focus on both Ancient Greek and Sanskrit, which he combined to fulfill the requirements of a regularized Linguistics special major. T successfully completed his thesis defense last fall. In addition to his special major, he is double minoring in Music and Computer Science. 

Past his graduation this May, T will remain active in music. He says, “This summer I'll be attending Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music.” He will also begin his journey to earn an MA in Italian from the Middlebury Language Schools immersion program over the course of four summer semesters. Regarding the future, T says, “I'm not sure what next fall holds for me, but at worst, I will be spending lots of time with my moms at home, which is fine with me.” He also adds, “I'm excited to explore more options with Italian after I graduate from college as well.” T will undoubtedly continue his work in composition and performance, as the music department will long remember the resonant sounds left lingering from his cello after performances.

T will hold his senior recital on April 12 at 3 PM in Lang Concert Hall. The performance is free and open to the public. 

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Favorite music course? Orchestra. You can take the course over and over and over again every semester and get credit for it, and you get to play nice music and different types of music every semester.

Favorite music-making experience? I don’t have just one. There’s the improv context where a senior who graduated two years ago, Zivia Lichtenberg ‘23, and I would make these fun chord progressions and then improv over it. Another experience was performing at WaR3house 3 with some of my own compositions.

What will you miss most about Swarthmore? Being around so many talented musicians of all different genres of music, and just being able to meet up with them and play stuff.

What noise or sound do you love?  C2 [The note located 2 octaves below middle C on a piano]

What noise or sound do you hate? Fire alarm.

What’s the last song you played on your phone? Prelude to Bach Cello Suite No. 5 because I have a cello lesson soon.