What do you think you’ll be remembered for in high school?

I believe people will remember me for my crazy ideas… My taste tends to be eclectic no matter the subject. In orchestra, I was always wanting to play contemporary music, before we left I was preparing a quartet by minimalist composer Philip Glass with friends. In Gov, I loved to denounce the ideas of liberal democracy with every unit. One thing I will remember too is organizing an assembly outside the CAS for the civil liberties project in gov.

Were you planning on performing the quartet for an audience?

Yeah we were going to perform in small ensembles for the spring concert which sadly will not be happening.

Did it feel like you had that opportunity to perform robbed by the whole shutdown?

Yeah I was really looking forward to a lot of things, but what I am saddest about is all the concerts that will never happen. Playing that quartet was something i had looked forward to for years as we rarely do small ensembles in orchestra. In Wando Philharmonic, a club with orchestra and band students, we had been preparing music for most of the year and we never had the opportunity to have a concert. The Philharmonic last year was awesome. We played as part of Music Under the Oaks at Town Center. It was an outdoor concert on a little stage that we struggled to fit on. We were invited back this year, and although we didn’t perform, I still have the memories from last year’s concert and the fun we had at morning rehearsals.

Could you go into more detail about the civil liberties project?

Yeah for the assignment we were asked to do a presentation on the freedom of assembly. Most groups were just doing slideshows but our group had the obvious choice to have an assembly. I wasn’t sure how Ms. Byrd would receive it so I left her out of the loop for the most part. I emailed all my classmates and invited them to meet outside the CAS where she could see us from her window. The people in my group all made posters to resemble what you’d hold up at a protest, but they had information on the freedom of assembly.

What was the highlight of your high school career as a musician?

This school year honors orchestra performed in the lobby of the Gaillard Center before a masterworks concert. It was either right before or after Thanksgiving so I had a bunch of family in town. A bunch of more distant relatives were able to see me perform for the first time which was epic. On top of that, we got to see the Charleston Symphony play afterwards and they were performing Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky. We had played one of the movements last year in Wando philharmonic, and it was funny to look at each other thinking, “oh, that’s what it’s supposed to sound like”.

What are your future plans for college and beyond?

I’m going to CofC next year for computer science, and I’d like to eventually go into academia. I planned on joining the orchestra at CofC too, but it’s looking like the first semester will be off campus. I’m also pretty excited to continue learning German at CofC, they have a great program.