Born into a musical family, I was surrounded by singing and playing of instruments every day. My dad was constantly singing his rock and roll songs, and playing guitar to make me dance. My mom on the other hand was singing me lullabies and songs that are child favorites. I started singing when I was really young, a short time after I learned to talk. I would always be singing the little tunes children learn when they are little, such as those that my mother sang to me. There were times though that I would make up my own songs and only I knew what they were about. I spent a great deal of my time with my Grandma Klosterman who had a tremendous appreciation for music and was always singing herself. When she passed away, I kept my love of music to keep her memory in my heart. Her husband, my Grandpa, was a music teacher when my dad was in school, which helped my dad become interested in music as well, only rock and roll instead of classical. On my mom’s side, my Grandpa was an amazing singer even though he didn’t like to admit it and my Grandma was in some of the highest choirs in her school. I have so many uncles and aunts who love to sing and are incredibly talented, as well as cousins and siblings who are more talented than I am. I like to think that I come from an extraordinarily musical family and I love that I can say that.
When I became a third grader, I decided to join the Cherub Choir at our local Catholic church. From this came the next choir or the Junior Choir, and then finally the Youth Choir for high school students. Being in these choirs helped me know how much fun participating with an ensemble of musicians could be. So in the fifth grade I joined the band, and played the clarinet for the next eight years and fell even more in love with music. I participated in solo and ensemble three out of the four years in high school, and received Superior ratings for my performances, which is the top achievement in Ohio. Our Symphonic Band also participated in the Large Adjudicated Events and went to State every year I was in high school. We received Superior ratings two out of the four years and received Excellent ratings the other two years. My band director and assistant band director played significant roles in helping me decide to major in music education. They were both role models who I looked up to at my school because of the way they connected with us kids and taught us the material we needed to know to be successful. They also displayed their love for music in their own ways every day we would come to class. They both watched me grow as a clarinetist and were extremely excited when I told them that I wanted to major in music education. I owe a great deal of my musical knowledge to these two magnificent educators and probably would not be in the place I am at in this wonderful school if it weren't for their help.
Along with my band experience was my participation in our choirs at school. I received elementary general music and learned many of the basics in this class through my kindergarten to fourth grade years in elementary school. Due to being in band, I was not able to be in choir my fifth and sixth grade years, so I began choir in the seventh grade. I was in choir starting my seventh grade year all the way to my senior year in high school. I was in my school’s women’s chorus my freshman year and then moved up to our symphonic choir my sophomore year and stayed there through my senior year. I was also active in my show choir starting my sophomore year. I played a huge role in my symphonic choir as a second soprano, due to my ability to hear those inner pitches between the alto and soprano lines. My director would tell me that she relied on me to sing out and help all the other sopranos project their voices so we could be loud. I could also sing first soprano and had a very high range, but I mainly sang second. Singing this part helped me grow in my musical ability to pick out the notes that are usually hard to hear and sight read material other than the melody. My director helped me tremendously to let me know how to approach certain songs such as genres and styles, and how to make my voice sound different ways by changing vowel shapes. She also helped me audition for the District 3 Honors Choir we have in our district every year. This experience in District 3 Honors Choir of singing with so many outstanding singers intrigued me to further my education in music. Having a high school choir with very few men, I was astounded by what a bass and tenor parts sounded like with a great number of singers. This was the best influence for me when pursuing music because I did not realize what wonderful music could be made when you have enough singers to balance all the parts. Being in choir was definitely a great influence on my career choice to be a teacher. My choir experience in high school led me to audition for the choirs at Ball State and sing some of the most wonderful repertoire I would have never experienced if I did not come here.
Another influence for me to major in music was my absolute love of music. I have always loved listening to different types and genres of music and got really interested in learning how to sing properly in these different styles. From jazz to classical music I have been engaged in trying to sing the ways I have heard and been taught. I also try to experiment on my own to see what things my voice can do with little changes. I listen incredibly close to all of the songs I ever listen to and try to distinguish all of the parts that are being played, sung, etc. I like to challenge myself and see how many singing parts I can hear, and try to find a new one every time. A good example of this is the group known as Straight No Chaser. This group has inspired me so much for their sound and how they divide themselves into any number of parts to produce an outrageous sound. Along with some of my family and friends, I went to a concert of theirs and witnessed their arrangements of popular music firsthand. I was amazed by their singing abilities and the joy they presented to the audience in every song they sang. I realized that I would love to experience that joy as well and pursue music even further. It truly opened my eyes and help me figure out that I needed to attend the right school with the right program to further my education in music. I needed to better myself in my musical talent and expand my love even farther by being immersed in music in every aspect. I feel that I have done exactly that, and I am on my way to being an accomplished musician and music educator.
I truly believe that I have a wonderful musical life history. I feel that it is full of amazing people who have helped me along the way and have encouraged me to pursue exactly what I am called to do. My musical experiences throughout my life have allowed me to be aware of what I need to be happy. I realize that I need music in my life to be happy and I need to teach music to students. I want to share my love of music with everyone I come in contact with and show them how it makes life beautiful. I know that my love for music will continue to grow as I become more knowledgeable about even more aspects of music. I will never forget all of the memories I have made with music and the impact it has made on my life.