Spotlights: Musicians in the Community

While we tend to pay attention to celebrities who are well known worldwide, we have “musical stars'' in our school. In this article, it will be featuring Alex Pham, Sol Park, Maxim Gulyaev, and Thia Ostrander with their commentaries on music.

Alex Pham

I sing mostly, starting around last year. I also enjoy writing music. It’s so enriching! The possibilities of music (like any other artform) are near endless, and it opens you up to new, wholly unique feelings that are nearly impossible to create in any other medium. It's so pure, and, like any art, a large part of its value is its honesty. It’s gotten me through a lot emotionally for sure, and it enriched my enjoyment of the music I've listened to in general. This new language I have access to also allows me the ability to express myself in ways that I never believed I could. Completely disregard any stigma of “pretentiousness” that's associated with music, and just hop in. Its another tool in the belt. Of course, like any intellectual pursuit, you probably WILL feel incredibly inadequate and stupid, but you’ll be smarter, kinder, and more empathetic because of it.

Sol Park

I play the violin (which I started at 9) and the piano (which I started at 5). Music is important to me because it helps me express myself. It's always been a part of my life one way or another and without it I wouldn't feel like myself. It has shaped me into the person and it pretty much is at the core of my upbringing. Music has equipped me with important life skills, one of which is discipline - a skill that has transferred to other areas of my life, such as academics. I've also gained a lot of soft skills, such as the ability to communicate and collaborate, which can't be taught in classroom settings. In this sense, I think my musical experiences have helped me become more confident and skilled in areas of my life. And of course playing and listening both help me destress and just have a good time. I think learning an instrument is a really good idea for all these reasons - it's a really good coping mechanism that you will likely need throughout high school and even life.

Maxim Gulyaev

I have played the saxophone since I was 8. I value music a lot in my life and it’s a major part of my identity and personality. Music is a way of expressing yourself, your inner emotions and feelings. It is a way to escape reality and travel to the depths of your own soul. I think every person should pick up a musical instrument because it’s a source of joy which everyone needs in their daily life full of stress and anxiety.

Thia Ostrander

I’ve been playing music since I was around six or seven years old, when I took piano lessons. Since then I’ve tried lots of different instruments, but I currently play guitar, trombone, and sing. I’ve been singing my whole life (but never taken lessons), have been playing guitar for eight years, and trombone for three years. Music is a huge part of my life. I grew up in a musical household, so I was constantly surrounded by different types of music and musicians. My dad is a musician, so I’ve gotten a lot of my musical taste from him. Though he didn’t play a lot of music when I was younger, my parents both raised me to appreciate and care deeply about music. I love music because of how it can transport you back to a specific time in your life or evoke a vivid feeling or memory. I define different periods of my life by the music I listened to, and I think a huge part of a piece of music (besides its technical or musical value) is the sentimental value attached to it. I still remember the music my parents played for me when I was a little kid, and listening to it reminds me how it felt to live back then, without having any actual concrete memories of the time. A memory, feeling or meaning associated with a piece of music is something that can be completely unique to each and every one of us, or something that a group of people can share, and I think that’s really powerful. Music is my creative outlet, so my life without music would be insanely boring. I listen to it when I study, when I walk my dogs, when I work out, and I play in between homework breaks. The music I get to play and listen to helps give my day more variation– without it, I’d just be studying or doing chores all day. I’ve made a lot of friends through music, which has helped me meet people who I otherwise never would have gotten to know. It’s helped bring me closer to people who are wildly different to me, so I’ve been able to get exposure to new hobbies or interests, but we share a common interest in music. It’s also given me a creative outlet, a break from the stress of school and helped me find meaning in something that’s not my academics, which is really important to me. Music has also helped me step out of my comfort zone. I’ve performed a lot at school since I was younger, and I’ve also played in the city a few times. Even after 8 years of performing, I still get stage fright every time I get on stage. But it’s a good challenge for myself, and I keep it as a way to constantly try and improve and grow as a musician and a person. Learning an instrument, if you haven’t played an instrument before, can be a really beneficial experience because it’ll have you using a different part of your brain that you’d use in academic subjects. It can also be a really good way to challenge yourself outside of academics. Personally, it’s really helped me find meaning and purpose for myself outside of my academics, which is something that it’s easy to get trapped in as a high schooler. I do recommend people to learn a new instrument or get into music. Finding a genre, song or artist you love can be a really beautiful and meaningful experience. I still remember the first time I listened to some of my favorite artists for the first time because of how impactful their music was for me. Whether it’s a song’s lyrics, instrumental, or just the song in general, I think finding a piece that’s meaningful to you is a really simple, yet beautiful thing.

After reading their inspiring experiences with music, I hope you can renew your perspective towards music and consider stepping into this field!