Arizona Arts Proficiency Seal
Queen Creek Unified School District
Capstone Reflection
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.
________For this project, I am most proud of how smooth the set-up and planning went for it. It took some time, but I was able to successfully rent out the room weeks in advance, send out invites for guest then, and also find performers for the recital ahead of time to the point where day of, I didn't have to worry about anything other than the set up. I have set things up like this in the past where things fell out of place, and I was scrambling the day before for details and help; this time I learned from my past experiences and things came together nicely. If I were to change something, it would be the recording set-up. The audio for this recital got poorly captured by the phone camera we were using and the lighting in the room was not ideal for video recording. I even know someone with a better audio recording set-up; however, I took the easier route and the quality of the recital recording suffered. For lighting, I could have spent the time to set up some lights I have from my house for optimal recording. Next time I will take this into account. ____________
Explain how your life experiences are reflected through your project.
________My project has reflected my last four years of hard-work on the violin and really allowed me to see how far I have come. The idea of a progression recital refers to the fact that I played my main solo piece that I learned and worked on for each year of high school. As I prepared for my recital and played old songs that now are much easier, it let me recognize the growth that I've had the last four years and show that too everyone who attended my recital. Three of the pieces I played were ones that I worked on for the AMEA Solo and Ensemble competition, which I never thought I would get another chance to perform again. One of the pieces in particular, Concerto in G minor, was one that I scored 89 points on Sophomore year. This score was one point off from attaining a superior that year and bothered me for a long time afterwards that I would not get a chance at redemption. This recital, despite not having an accompanist for the song, gave me the opportunity to reconciliate those feelings for that song and move on from it. Another way my life experiences make an appearance in my project is the location of my recital. Through my private lessons, I have been able to participate in many recitals at this one church nearby my house. So I took inspiration from my teacher and decided to host my recital in the same place.___
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?
_________The amount of extracurricular hours I did encouraged me to take every opportunity I could in the arts. I involved myself in orchestra related clubs at my school like Tri-M honor society, Fiddle Club, and Orchestra Council. These opportunities accelerated the rate at which my violin skills developed as now I was spending more time outside of school hours practicing and immersing myself in music. These clubs also gave me leadership opportunities as I served in treasurer and president roles based on the year. Another thing I joined for the sake of hours was the yearly Messiah rehearsals/performances with the Twelve Oaks Stake. While it began as just simply a way to earn lots of hours, I have fallen in love with the music and truth that the music preaches every year and have continued to participate in it even after I earned all my hours. My private lessons also handled a large chunk of the required 80 hours required in total; however, I was already taking lessons before freshman year. The continued motivation to take them though has contributed to my overall success as a violinist, enhancing my skillsets and giving me goals to achieve every week. ___
How is your life positively impacted by the arts?
____Music makes me so happy to play, especially in a large symphony where all the different parts combine to create one overwhelming sound. Every time I find myself in an orchestra of huge caliber, it amazes me how every single person there all chose to be there simply so that we can all play amazing music together. It truly is a great unifier. Without music in my life and especially the violin, I would not have one of the things that makes me truly happy, which is performing for others music they can enjoy. Thanks to orchestra I have had many opportunities to share music with a crowd, but smaller settings are also really enjoyable to play music for. For instance, me and a couple friends put together a quartet before many of them had to leave for college and played an array of music for a memory care home close to us. The looks on many of their faces as they listened to music that my friends and I could create made my day and still inspires me to work hard on my songs that I will perform. Another thing music has done for me is connected to so many great people. One of my closest friends I connected with when he moved onto my street and we both took orchestra together. We became super close friends and still share our current music experiences despite him having gone to college already. I would argue to say that there is no way the arts have affected me negatively in any way; all my experiences have helped me grow as a person and musician. ___
How do you plan to include artistic experiences in your future after high school?
_____Directly after high school, I plan on serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. On this mission I am able to bring my violin with me where I will have many chances to play and collaborate with others in playing musical numbers for church related activities. Following the mission, I plan on attending either ASU or BYU (the choice is still up in the air for me) both of which have reputable orchestras I want to audition for. My previously mentioned friend is currently in the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra which would be amazing if I could get into it. During my time in the orchestra I still want to continue getting better and also help others improve their skill, so I want to teach violin lessons to others. Also, I previously mentioned that I want to continue doing the Messiah Christmas Program every year because of the spirit it brings to the season and how amazing the music is to play. ______
What advice would you give an incoming freshmen about studying the arts to help them make the most of their experiences while in high school?
____A great piece of advice would be to develop discipline. It is necessary in order to make steady progress in any instrument and creates a healthy habit which will have noticeable results. Throughout my violin journey, I have gone through peaks and troughs of making progress and feeling motivated in my instrument; if I had cemented the habit of practicing every day sooner on, it could have made all the difference in where I am now. Every hour of practice helps in some way so long as it is quality practice. That brings me to my next point, understanding the difference between lazy practicing and purposeful practicing. When being purposeful and deliberate about it, the ideas and muscle memory develop much quicker compared to lazy practicing, which looks more like just playing through each song once. Another piece of advice is to get to know the people around you while taking these artistic classes. Chances are, they likely share a lot of the same interests. Having others you can rely on and talk to about what you're passionate about will keep you motivated and happy within an artistic field. __