Musical History

   I came to Penn State from Bellefonte High School. Bellefonte is a little town in Pennsylvania about 15 minutes from State College, so I still live pretty close to home. I had some amazing musical experiences in high school that led me to wanting music to be my career. I started taking private lessons in 10th grade from Cindy who was a graduate student of Dr. Armstrong's, the Professor of flute at Penn State. I took lessons from her for a year. It was in that year that I fell in love with music. After a year, Cindy left and I started taking lessons from Diane Toulson. I took lessons from her for two years. During the second year that I was taking lessons from her, I grew that most musically that I ever had; she was an amazing teacher.

    I attended many PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association) festivals throughout high school. I attended District Band 2005, Regional Band 2005, District Band 2006, Regional Band 2006, District Orchestra 2006, District Band 2007, Regional Band 2007, District Orchestra 2007, and Regional Orchestra 2007. Those festivals really helped me grow not only as a musician, but as a person. I met some really amazing people who I am still friends with today through festivals. These are two of my friends who I met through festivals, Chris and Jenn.

    I was a member of my high school’s marching band for four years, concert band for four years, orchestra for three years, and choir for one year. I got involved with being a leader through music when I was only a sophomore. That year, I became a section leader for the marching band, for the concert band, and for the orchestra. At the end of that year, I won the James Garbrick Award. The recipient of this award got a scholarship to go to Penn State Music Camp for a year. So, the summer after my sophomore year, I went to my first year of music camp at Penn State. I loved the camp and the musicians were amazing. I loved it so much that I went back for two more years. My first year, I get 9th chair, my second year I got 3rd chair, and my last year I got 1st chair. Just as I made friends through festivals, I made a few good friends through Penn State Music Camp who I still keep in touch with today.

    At the end of my sophomore year, I was voted President of the band for the upcoming year. At the beginning of my junior year, my band director decided that there was going to be a new system for choosing the drum major. Every year, he would choose a junior to be next year's drum major. That person would train under the previous drum major for a year, so that they would be ready for the upcoming year. I tried out and I was chosen to be the drum major. The person who I was under training with was one of my best friends through music. Her name was Diana and she taught me how to conduct, how to conduct while backwards marching, whistle commands, and how to be a leader. She was really an inspiration to me because she was an amazing drum major and musician herself. This is a picture of me, Joe, who was my trainee, and Diana from left to right.

    So, my senior year, I was a drum major and I think that was a huge reason that my senior year of high school was the best year of my life so far. Through being a drum major, I made a better relationship with my director, with my peers, and with the Fine Arts Boosters. I loved everything about it. I loved that I got to work with people and that people my own age respected me, because sometimes that respect can be hard to get. I got to spend a lot more time with people outside of my section than I usually do because now, instead of the flutes being my section, the band was my section. So I made a lot of friends. I also made a lot of friends in my friends parents. I am so blessed to have met some of the amazing people that I have through music. Some of my friend’s parents were and still are so supportive of me and everything that I do. They really have faith in me and they make me feel like a good person and leader. The music was amazing too! Our field show was music by Queen that year and the band made amazing progress from the beginning of the season to the end. They loosened up and started enjoying it in the middle of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and started tastefully moving/dancing to the music on the field.

                                                                                                  

    My senior year I was also the Vice-President of the band. I organized a secret Santa that we had around Halloween time and Christmas time. I also organized a small ensemble concert that we had at the end of the year. I wrote some music my senior year as well. I wrote a flute saxophone duet for my sister and I to play at that concert and I wrote an arrangement of Carol of the Bells that our flute choir played around Christmas time. I also joined and was a co-principal of the Central Pennsylvania Youth Orchestra. That was an amazing experience and I made a few friends through that as well.

    At the end of my senior year, I got the John Phillip Sousa Award. I cannot think of a better way to have ended my senior year. This award is voted on by the band and goes to the person who they think is a strong leader, person, and musician. It's really the greatest honor that the band thought I deserved it.

    High school really shaped me as a musician and as a person. It was there that I learned to and fell in love with being a leader. It was there that I fell in love with music and with working with people through music. I would not be the person I am today without the people who encouraged me and supported me through music and as a leader.

 

Meaningful Musical Artifact