Interview with Kevin Yu
Founder at Coregami
It's not easy being a master of none. When he's not working, teaching the violin, swatting tennis balls, performing with the symphony - he's chasing after a dog. We had a chance to go for a run with Kevin.
10/27/2017
Life Hack: I have an apple and a cup of green or black tea every morning. Haven't seen a doctor in years.
Last meal on Earth: Cookie Butter from Trader Joes, butter chicken with garlic naan, noodles, thin crust pizza, coconut water. But if I had to pick one thing, it's gotta be dumplings!
Favorite parts about your job? (1) designing new products with rock star musicians (2) flexibility to work any 60 hours a week I like and (3) talking to strangers.
What’s your superpower? I can talk to complete strangers.
You’re a newly-wed. Anything she can’t stand about you? I use her expensive facial wash as hand soap. And I enjoy talking to strangers.
Favorite Coregami items: It’s hot here in Texas. I like the Bernstein by day and the Coltrane by night. Even after a full day, I still feel fresh.
Do Now. Learn to say No. Be in the Present.
Life in Dallas: We live in Uptown near the West Village. My wife is a yoga instructor. My running trail was formerly a set of railroad tracks. The free trolley takes us to Klyde Warren Park and the Meyerson Symphony Center. The public tennis courts are nearby. We walk everywhere with our dog, Ketchup.
How do you get your learn on? I’m a huge fan of the New World Symphony and their master class series called MUSAIC. Alex Kerr's talk on Ein Heldenleben is great storytelling and gifted sound-craft.
What’s on your music stand? Kreutzer, Rode, Dont, Bach Partitas, Carl Flesch and a #2 pencil.
Favorite Podcast “How I built This” with Guy Raz and "The Tim Ferris Show"
What are you reading? I mix it up. “Quench Your Own Thirst” by Jim Koch, “Anything You Want” by Derek Sivers, and “Shoe Dog” by Phil Knight.
First thing you do each morning: I have a cheap yoga mat beside my bed. I can roll into child’s pose with my eyes shut.
Any advice for your 18 year old self? Do now. Learn to say no. Be in the present.
ABOUT KEVIN
Growing up in Dallas, he is a three-time Texas All-State musician and has served as the Concertmaster of the UT Austin University Orchestra. Professionally, Kevin has served as the Principal violinist of the Masters Sinfonia in San Francisco and the Las Colinas Symphony.
In his spare time, he enjoys international travel and has walked the El Camino de Santiago. After the Asian tsunami, his deployment of a foreign aid platform in India led to the Rotary International Service Award. In 2011, he was one of 55 Americans designated a Marshall Fellow by the German Marshall Fund.
Kevin received his undergraduate degree from UT Austin - McCombs and his graduate degree from UT Dallas - Jindal School. He has passed up music school three times.
Today, he serves as a Commissioner on the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Board of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra. He resides in Uptown Dallas with his wife who is a yoga instructor, a ninja turtle named Stanley, and a golden doodle named Ketchup.
