The Mycenaean

Berthold Auerbach, Jewish author, said, “Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

Although many students may find themselves stuck in an endless routine, music can lessen the drudge of daily life.

Mary Lee Free sang throughout middle school and high school. She said all the time she spends on her craft is worth the effort. “It’s an outlet for your expression and emotion.”

“It’s what I’m passionate about, so it comes really easy to me,” said Free.

Gene Kim, junior, pianist, learned piano when when he was little. “My grandparents and my mom pushed me to play when I was young.”

Kim said he liked the piano in general but didn’t like to practice. As he became more involved in competitions, he soon realized the value of rehearsing. He participates in the North Carolina Federation of Music Club (NCFMC) and has felt more confident when performing. “I worked that hard, so I didn’t feel nervous,” said Kim.

“You are in your own time and space. It’s something only that moment can give you,” said Kim about performing.

Maggie Young, violist, didn’t have an easy time mastering the art of music. “I definitely had to force myself to practice,” said Young. “I was really discouraged, [but] I’m not going to get any better if I don’t practice.”

Young said she enjoys classical music and hearing the full orchestra motivated her to continue learning to play the viola; she wanted to be part of something greater.

Leopold Stokowski said, “A painter paints pictures on a canvas, but musicians paint their pictures on silence.”

“For me, art is music,” said Mark Watters, junior. “When my dad was in the Marines, he bought a clarinet from a pawn shop for $10.”

Watters began his art in the sixth grade, mastering it throughout middle school and high school. In addition to clarinet, Watters also plays piano and guitar.

He feels that performing is artistic, too. “Being in band gives you a sense of professionalism.”

“[Performing] is the moment that what you’ve worked for comes together,” said Free. “You feel the bond more than in rehearsal.”

She described the sense of accomplishment and the bond within the chorus as one benefit, but couldn’t think of any negative aspects. “I don’t know if there are any cons. It’s all worth it.”

“Like any art, it doesn’t look like anything [to begin with], but if you keep going…. it’ll often evolve into something greater than you ever expected,” said Young.