Q: What is your role as a senior in choir?

A: I have one major choir that I’m in, but I also senior leader in two choirs. The intermediate guy choir and then the freshman guy choir. First semester I took up the King role for Madrigals. Overall I would like to think I can lead the program in a way to guide people, but that’s up to people to decide.

Q: How long have you been involved in choir?

A: I’ve been involved in choir my entire life. I’ve always loved music since I was a child and as I’ve grown up my love for it has grown. I’m super grateful that I’ve done it even when I’m not required to. 

Q: Coming into your Freshman year, did you have an idea that this was something you wanted to do? Why? If not, what changed?

A: Yeah, I remember watching my sister always perform in concerts and being in Madrigals, and when I came into high school it was such a joy being able to be in choir and not be afraid because I had people from my sister’s years that would mentor me and teach me and guide me on why I should keep doing music and enjoy it.

Q: What has been your favorite part of being involved in choir?

A: It’s helping everyone. I really enjoy being a guide to the underclassmen but also just being involved and understanding and learning new things. You can always learn more, it’s never you reaching a point and that’s it, it’s always experimenting and experiencing. 

Q: Was there ever a time that you doubted being in choir?

A: Yeah, last year right after Madrigals – so December – I don’t know what happened. I lost my love for it and I was lost for quite awhile, it was a good couple of months. I re-found it back in February when I went to ACDA [American Choral Directors Association].

Q: How do you feel choir has impacted your life and career here at PEHS? Beyond?

A: I have learned the most valuable lessons in my entire life from choir and it’s not just from my teachers but it’s also from my friends, the people I’ve looked up to. Music has benefitted it also when it comes to family members and I am very grateful for what I’ve been taught. 

Q: Why do you do what you do? What about choir is intriguing to you?

A: It’s the beauty behind it. I find everything so fascinating. I don’t know how to use it as an analogy but it’s finding something and you go down one pathway and then two open up. And then you go down either one of them and another two open up, or maybe four. It’s just this huge bubble that you don’t actually know exists until you experience it.

Q: Who has been your biggest influence? Your biggest inspiration?

A: It was my friend Salem Channell, he graduated last year. I look up to him a lot. He’s an older brother, he’s a leader, he’s a mentor. I feel like I learned the most lessons from him and I’ve learned my role not just in the choir program, but also just how I can live my life. 

Q: What has been your greatest accomplishment thus far in choir or in general at PEHS?

A: In choir I feel like my greatest accomplishment currently that I like to think is becoming King [in Madrigals]. It was a good learning moment and a great way to express my love and I hope I did that role justly. I like to think that I helped a lot of people and I got to show people why I want to do choir and why I love music.

Q: How successful do you feel you have been during your time in choir or in general at PEHS?

A: I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot, and I’ve learned how good of a musician I am. I don’t want to look at this as “oh I’ve made these events or I’ve made this group or I’ve gotten this role” it’s more of what I’ve learned and how much I can apply myself not just to what I’ve been asked to do, but also how I can apply to benefit other students.

Q: As a senior, what is going to be the one thing you miss the most, at East or the choir program?

A: I feel like something I’m going to miss – from what I’ve heard from my friends that have graduated now and are in choir – it’s the diversity. But that’s just because I don’t think the colleges they go to have a diverse program. But, I feel like personally here, it’s going to be the memories I’ve made. Miss K and Ms. Grba do a phenomenal job at their roles and they put in so much time in and outside of school that most people don’t realize. Without what they do for us, we wouldn’t get everything that we have and if we never had these things I don’t feel like my life, these four years for choir, would be the same as it is today. I wouldn’t be as happy, I wouldn’t be as excited to express myself and to enjoy myself. 

Q: What legacy do you hope to leave? Why? Was this always what you wanted people to remember? If not, what changed?

A: I hope people don’t look at me as a narcissist. I’ve never wanted that. I want people to remember me not for what I’ve done, but for what I’ve provided and for what lessons that I was able to give out for people to pass down to other generations. I want to make sure that the program itself, not just now, but for the future is accessible and that the people love doing music and they’re not just here because their friends are there or because they want an easy grade.

Q: Do you have any words of wisdom to incoming freshmen, seniors, or anyone in between? 

A: For freshmen: don’t be afraid to experiment. Don’t be afraid to talk to people. The biggest reason why I wanted to be the freshman senior leader was because I wanted to make sure that they came out at the end of their freshman year as strong seniors and people that can enjoy music and talk to other people, not just in the program but in high school overall. For incoming seniors: enjoy your last year. It flies by so much. Don’t be upset that you don’t get these events or that you don’t get these roles. It’s okay. Personally, I don’t like looking at it that way. I like to look at it as how far we’ve just come in these past four years and how I’ve been able to have fun with my fellow seniors that will be graduating with me in a couple of weeks. So just enjoy yourselves, don’t stress, and don’t be upset if things don’t go your way because everything has – however that saying goes – everything has a plan for itself.