Starting from the Top

Life has a lot of twists thrown in to make it interesting, I think. I have always been a music lover, I started piano at the age of six, and this after at least a year of teacher hunting. So you could say that I was born with a desire to make music. I have made all kinds of music over the years, but I never expected that I would end up emphasizing in tuba. I never even imagined playing the tuba until I was in high school, and then only as a way to march in the band ( I wasn't much of a drummer at the time). I thought that surely I would emphasize in percussion. But, like I said, life twists, and here I am, a music major emphasizing in band education, and tuba. I attend Utah State University, and love it. I have had so many opportunities, in the marching band, wind ensemble, and jazz band, to really expand my horizons musically speaking, that I feel it important to show people just what kinds of things they can do with music in their lives.

In the preface of his book, "Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain" Oliver Sacks said "for virtually all of us, music has great power, whether or not we seek it out, or think of ourselves as particularly "musical." This propensity to music -- this "musicophilia" -- shows itself in infancy, is manifest and central in every culture, and probably goes back to the very beginnings of our species. It may be developed or shaped by the cultures we live in, by the circumstances of life, or by the particular gifts or weaknesses we have as individuals -- but it lies so deep in human nature that one is tempted to think of it as innate..." I think that too many people overlook this essential part of our nature. Society's perception of music has changed in recent years, and many now think it frivolous. It is viewed as an expendable elective, something that can be dropped when the budget gets tight. I would like to share my positive experiences with music, and other's experiences with advocacy for music programs.