Priest quizzed students on what makes a successful musician. A good musician, he said, has a range of skills, from playing and listening to writing and improvising. But the best also are reliable and know how to be part of a team.
“If we don’t show up, we can’t do our art. We can’t be successful,” Priest said. “It’s very difficult to be a successful musician if you don’t play well with others.”
Miranda Call, an eight-grader, loves music and has learned to play the guitar, piano, saxophone and trombone. She agrees with Wilcox that music is in the soul.
“Ever since I was little, I’ve kind of been musically inclined. I was always singing, always hitting things and beating along with the music,” Call said.
Next, she wants to learn how to play the flute.
She sees herself as a structural engineer when she grows up but hopes to earn part of her living as a member of a musical ensemble. “I’d also like to be in a popular band — if that could ever happen.”
Brent Michelson, Curtis’ dad, said regardless of whether his son decides to pursue a career as a musician, he hopes studying the cello benefits his son’s academic pursuits.
“I believe that children, as they grow, if they play a musical instrument, they can think through things a lot better when it comes to problem solving,” Brent Michelson said. “It helps their mind develop in ways that it otherwise may not.”
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