Albert Einstein once said that the "important thing is not to stop questioning." A similar aphorism applies to composer and classical musician Yoko Hamabe Wylegala, whose life has been defined since the age of 7 by studying and questioning one subject or another.

"My parents took me to a ballet recital of 'Swan Lake,' and I was awestruck by the music. So I asked for Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake' album as a birthday gift," she says from her home in Washington D.C. "That was my first encounter with music. I wanted to experience the real thing, and to understand what Tchaikovsky's music meant."

When Wylegala's birthday arrived, however, she was sorely disappointed to discover that the album she received was an edited version that didn't include the one piece of music she was hankering to hear again — the section played during the pas de trois of Act 1. Undeterred, the whole experience became a definitive moment for Wylegala, who grew up to study at various universities scattered across the globe in order to experience and understand not just music, but everything that interests her. And her interests are eclectic — from music and the tango to mahjong and philosophy, she says she is always learning about something.