16 Years of Music

Because tomorrow will mark my sixteenth birthday, I feel like expressing how my life has been surrounded by music. I hope that my story will inspire others to get involved in music.

At an early age, my mother could already tell that I was a good musician. When I began singing at three or so, I was always on pitch. Whereas some kids just talk with pitch, I actually sang. At weddings I'd ask the musicians, such as the harpist or the string quarter, to play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

In elementary school, I'd try to teach the music class, to my teachers annoyance. Finally she called my mom up saying, "Carol, your son drives me crazy, but you need to get him into a choir."

It was then I joined the Minnesota Boychoir, this being 2005. I was a member of Junior Chorus. It was also around this time that I started taking piano lessons. At first, I hated them. But, when I figured out that I could learn songs I knew, such as Mary had a Little Lamb, I started enjoying them. As my interest in music began to grow, so did my knowledge. My choir and piano lessons helped me to learn music theory way before most kids begin to get the basics.

In 2007, I was accepted into Cantablie and was invited to go on tour with the Minnesota Boychoir (from here on MNBC) to Australia. At the tender age of 11, I had begun my international singing adventures. Also around this time, I began learning the trumpet. Once again, my knowledge of other forms of music contributed to my trumpet playing.

In 2009, I was diagnosed with type I diabetes. Although my life had been turned upside down on Wednesday, May 27, I was able to celebrate my birthday at home on the 29th of May. A few weeks later, my choir went on tour to Alaska as the entertainment onboard a cruise ship. I, along with many members of my family, went along with this trip.

At the same time, I had gotten braces. Due to the pain from playing the trumpet with them, I moved to French horn and then baritone.

In eighth grade, I was cast as the boy soloist in Leonard Bernstein's Mass and was broadcast over Minnesota Public Radio. I was also cast in a workshop for a newly written musical at the Guthrie theatre in Minneapolis. The same year, my grandfather died. I asked my grandma if I could sing for the funeral. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I could see, by the faces in the congregation, that it meant more than I could imagine. That sumner my choir went to Portland, Oregon for a youth choir festival. This would be the first time I had ever been away from my family for an extended period of time.

Over the rest of the summer, I taught myself flute, saxophone, and clarinet.

In mid-July, my 17 year old cousin Karl drowned. I was asked by his mother to sing at his funeral. I can say, with the utmost certainty, that singing for his funeral, Be Still My Soul, was the single most difficult thing I've ever done.

In 2010, I entered 9th grade. I told my band director I'd play anything he wanted me to. He asked me to play tuba. Throughout this year, I began to compose and try new instruments: organ, bassoon, guitar, ukulele, and oboe.

In the summer of 2011, my choir was invited to sing at the Vatican for high Mass on the feast day of St. Paul and St. Peter. It just so happens that I live near St. Paul and that on the day we sang, we went to both St. Paul's Church and St. Peter's Basilica. Two months later, I was diagnosed with West Nile which put me in the hospital for eighteen days and out for the count for nearly 5 months.

In 10th grade, after numerous budget cuts, I was accepted into my high school's Chorale and Wind Ensemble. I played bassoon in band and sang 1st tenor in choir. Due to a boy dropping Encore, my school's a cappella group, I was asked to join. I arranged several pieces for Encore, and sang a solo.

And here I am. Three years and one day after my diagnosis. Fifteen years, 364 days, 17 hours and 19 minutes later. I look back and I see the obstacles I've faced. I look back and I see the joys I've experienced.

I ask you, reader. What is your dream? How hard are you willing to fight for it?

My dream is music. Although I'm teased, brushed off, and put aside, I know that there is one thing no one can ever take away from me: my dreams. Throughout sickness, loss, suffering and disappointment, I've never stopped trying. I've never said "You know, this might not work out for me. I should quit." I've never said no to my dreams and I look how far I've come.

I found a journal entry from kindergarten and it said this: "When I get older, I'm going to be successful."

I love that. It wasn't a dream then, it was a statement of fact.

Now that I see myself now. In all my flaws, insecurities, and faults, I can say, despite the things I lack, I'm successful.

Don't ever stop dreaming.

It gets better.

Trust me.

Music "In the Wild"

As we enter the American holiday Memorial Day weekend, I think it's a good idea to think about the effect on life that music has.

(I know, not very connected.)

I'm camping at William O'Brian State Park this weekend. I was thoughtful enough to bring my guitar. Even so, I miss the music that civilized life has to offer. I am very fortunate to live in a society where music is encouraged. Whereas camping can make some people feel close to nature, it makes me feel separated from my true love, music. It's at these times that I must remember there is music all around us.

So here's the question: how does music impact your daily life? And, if it does, what would be the effect of not having it?

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

What Is A Choir?

I am in the extraordinary position of being a member of three choirs and one band. I'm not sure how many people can grasp just how close knit choirs become.

I have been a member of my school's a cappella group for less than six months and yet I feel a strong sense of camaraderie amongst them.

And although I've been in my school's Chorale for just under nine months, everyone there is exceedingly supportive.

Lastly, I've been a member of the Minnesota Boychoir for over eight years and I can honestly say that the bonds we have to each other are not comparable to the bonds of a sports team. I know that when I walk into my choir's rehearsal space, all judgement, all conflicts, and all of life's problems dissipate for the two hours that I'm there.

Unfortunately for the Lakeville School District, the school board has decided that it doesn't care about the music department. That because we do not teach conventional education, we are somehow inferior to the rest of the academic world. They continue to cut our classes and teachers. I described to you what my experience with the Boychoir, but how can a music program at school ever come even close to that if they are not given the chance? I ask you, if you are a member of Lakeville Schools, to share this on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social networking site so that we may band together and stop our schools' music programs from disintegrating.

Church Music

I'm Catholic and, yes, we do pray to Mary. Today at Mass, the cantor sang Caccini's Ave Maria. While the performance was not flawless, the soloist did an outstanding job. The song also got me thinking: how well does the music we sing at church express our worship of God?

I found that by listening to the ethereal sound of the female voice, reverberating within the church, I experienced something almost divine. It felt as if I could hear the angels singing. Frankly, this song is perfect for emulating the joy and faith in God that the church has.

I'm a fan of Gregorian chant and Boroque style music so this might seem a little behind the times but I really feel that this type of singing is the best for expressing the love for a divine Creator.

What's your opinion? Whatever faith (or lack thereof) you have, how does music influence it?

Where the Music Comes From

Have you ever felt that there's a song inside of you? Have you ever heard music that no one else can hear?

If you answered yes, this post applies to you.

Something in my being knows that music is right for me. I've known for a fairly long time. And yet, when I try to find the source of my musical passion, I come up short.

I know that I'm the most comfortable when I'm doing music. I know that I always hear a song. But what I don't know is where that "instinct" , per say, originates. I'm not the only one either.

Many people feel that something in music resonates within them. Many people know that music is their element. But what makes it so?

So, leave a comment, please. Tell me where you think the music comes from. Tell me why you think it resonates within you.

Naturally Musical

It's a beautiful day here in Lakeville, Minnesota! Last night we got a thunderstorm but it got me thinking; music is all around us. All you have to do to hear it is to immerse yourself with nature. When surrounded by nature, you can hear the most remarkable things. Can you honestly tell me what rain on a pine tree sounds like? Can you hear the rustle of fresh fallen snow? I can, and so can you. As a composer, I constantly search for inspiration but often times I draw it from my own backyard. I can hear music in everything around me when I am in the woods. When I hear a pretty run by a bird, I translate that to a piccolo. When I hear rain, I see a tremolo orchestra.I feel that music is inescapable.No matter how much you may deny music. No matter how much you may love sports, school, or other activities, you can never escape the pull of music. I can't and you can't. It is ingrained into our being. So, I challenge you: find music in something unconventional over the course of this week and tell me what it was. There are absolutely no wrong answers. I want to fond out what you perceive to be naturally musical.
And, let me know what country you're from, just for some context

Something Beautiful

I'm sure you've heard the mantra "Silence is golden" before. Today I got a taste of what that really means.

As a fairly garrulous person, I often don't spend time admiring the phenomenon of silence. Often, I spend time Talking about pointless things just to hear my own voice. I rarely encounter silence and, consequently, lack the skills to appropriately react to it.

Also, I have a photographic memory. Therefore, I rely on images for everything. Unfortunately, because of this, I tend to focus way to much on the small things, such as an askew picture, rather than taking the time to absorb the bigger picture.

Something changed me today.

My a cappella group at school was practicing in our auditorium and decided to turn the lights off. Typically, I find these things immature and a waste of time. Yet, something today told me to wait.

Instantly I was robbed of the two things I find so familiar: sound and sight. The only sound I could hear was the whisper of my fellow singers. The only sight I could perceive was the dim illumination of the seats from an overhead window.

I blew my pitch pipe and we began to sing.

At once I knew something was different. The song we sing is MLK and I have the solo. With the opening words "Sleep, sleep tonight. And may your dreams be realized", I felt the text resonate somewhere deep within me. I felt like I was hearing the song for the first time.

When we had finished the piece, nobody spoke. Nobody giggled. There was nothing but complete silence. No applause to detract from the music. Absolutely nothing.

This is why I choose music over all else. No where can you go to be so in tune with your inner being. No where is there a place where you can connect on a higher level than in music.

Music is beautiful. It allows us to experience everything. It allows us to express everything. It allows us to be everything. And that truly is something beautiful.

What Music Means to Me

Lately I've been thinking about how much of my life is devoted to music...

I've found that I can trace practically everything I do do back to music. I wake up in the morning and go to our school's a cappella group. An hour later, I go to band or choir. When I get home, the first thing I do is homework but then I grab my laptop and compose or sit down at the piano.

When I feel down, one of the few things that can comfort me is music. When I feel happy, it is usually related to music.

I tend to view music as almost a person, albeit a silent one, who knows all of my insecurities, all of my pain, all of my joy, and all of my dreams. It consoles me. It congratulates me. It is there when no one else is. If I had to name my "best" friend, I'd say music.

So, my question for you, readers, is this: what does music mean to you?