Closing Section

Thank You!

This project has been one I have thorouhgly enjoyed and has only deepened my love for performance, but my love for composition and teaching. Through my time in music I have explored virtually every corner of cello performance, teaching, composition, and more. I participated in my schools jazz band, playing jazz cello. Additionally, I was allowed the privledge of teaching my schools concert orchestra for part of the year, where our work together allowed them to enjoy the music, have fun, and recieve a superior with distinction at one of their festivals and a superior at another. I have done pitt work, joint compositions with friends, taken composition master classes, studio courses in cello performance and more. Every long bus ride back from a festival, dinner after a concert with my orchestra friends, dried flowers hung above my bedroom door that remind me of the different performances I received them at, and my compositions that will still be around long after I die; this has al taught me how transient but dually eternal music is and although those short moments in between concerts and after I leave dinner and drive home to unpack my cello, I will forever remember the contribution to my life that has been made by music and the contribution to my life that his made by the people I met because of it. 

Reflection:

1)Thinking about the process and product of your Capstone, reflect upon what you are most proud of and what you might do differently if you were to complete a similar project in the future.

I am most proud of the progress I have made in my composition just through this song. Swan Song is one of my first few works as I have been composing for a little under a year, and through this song I have learned the importance of balance, clarity, and part-writing. I have allowed myself to write parts that showcase specific instruments while also highlighting the ensemble and have really enjoyed creating a piece that tells a story. If I were to do something different next time I would get more professional feedback on my piece and collaborate a little bit more. 

2) Explain how your life experiences are reflected through your project. 

My life experiences are reflected through my project because it is meant to tell the story of my relationship with music. It is meant to embody the bittersweet ending of a program that has been such a huge part of my life for the past three years. It has a lot of sections that are anticipatory and then still and some climbing sections that are emant to show the challenges that I faced, with a grande and bright ending, showing the triumph, relief, but simulateous sadness felt by the end of something that proved to be the majority of my high school career. 

3)Thinking about the extra-curricular hours you completed, reflect upon what you learned through the experiences and/or how you have been impacted as an artist? 

I learned through my service hours and additionally my extra-curricular hours, most of which were pitt work, the importance of teamwork and the amazing outcome that is able to be shared when artists work together to create something. I have done pitt work for three seperate productions and it is something I really enjoy because it shows the beauty of crossover between the different genres of performing arts. I have additionally learned the importance of music to the general public even in a time where people sometimes consider fine arts to be just a hobby. I have recognized the way it can emotionally affect people and have witnessed the way its changed my life. I am now increasingly aware of what a pillar art in all forms is and has been to humanity since the beginning of time. 

4)How is your life positively impacted by the arts? 

My life has been positively impacted by the arts in many ways. Before I started orchestra I had done visual arts, so painting and drawing. Ever since I was little, art has been a part of my life but music has only recently become something very valuable to me. I have always been surrounded by music, as my dad plays several instruments, also writing music, and in turn I have been pushed to try out several different instruments. Since playing the cello my grades have gotten significantly better, I have built a great circle or friends and a thriving community through music, and have also found something I am passionate enough about to want to pursue after high school. 

5)How do you plan to include artistic experiences in your future after high school?

I plan to minor in Music and plan to continue my composition work after high school. I love composing as a hobby and if the oppurtunity was presented to pursue it as a career I defintley would. I plan on joining a college orchestra once I attend university and continueing my lessons, performances, and pitt work. I believe that there are many oppurtunities for music outside of high school and plan on being a part of them. 

6)What advice would you give an incoming freshmen about studying the arts to help them make the most of their expereicnes while in high school? 

I would encourage incoming freshman who are studying the arts to take advantage of all of the oppurunities they get and make connections with people. My first pitt and the friendships I made within that group led me to more pitt work, compensation for album work, and other music centered jobs. My friendships from my composition class encouraged me to take more risks when writing which pushed me to write Swan Song, encouraged me to join the outside orchestra I am a part of, and allowed me to be confident in my song writing because of the kind and helpful community of people that I was priviledged enough to get to compose with. Connections lead to more oppurtunities and make all the work and late nights at rehearsals or early morning practicing with a metronome at 140 bmp, worth it. I would do all of the hardest parts of my orchestra career a hundred times over to continue to build connections like the ones I have made over the past three years. So the most important piece of advice I could give to incoming freshman is to not be afraid to connect and take advantage of every oppurtunity. 

Video Reflection 

Click here to watch my Reflection Video!