ALL FOR WHAT?

High school musicians reflect on their journey and plans for the future

Without mobs of students and backpacks clogging the halls, RBHS appears simple and void of life. The bare walls and cool brick create a lethargic cloud around the few early-arrivers who congregate on benches before first hour.

If students travel past the cafeteria, down the ramp toward the south entrance, past the humming vending machines and turn sharply to the left, however, they find themselves gazing upon a hidden sector of the school.

From left to right, shells of instrument cases litter the tile, congesting the already narrow fine arts hallway. At the far end of a rehearsal room, an assortment of cellos, violins and strings hide behind a paint-chipped piano, while energetic voices ring out in waves of harmony from the choir room.

For many band, orchestra and choir students, this hallway is home; it’s where they spend lunch and free periods, only leaving when absolutely necessary. The musical experience, however, extends far beyond the time and spaced contained within this narrow hall.

Students have invested in weekly private music lessons, instruments worth thousands of dollars and intense, lengthy periods of practice time. Each year, groups and individuals labor over audition, festival and other performance-related material.

Among them is senior Hope Keithahn, who spends roughly 25-30 hours rehearsing or performing cello and vocal music each week. Keithahn said her history with music dates back to the age of four.

“I started playing the cello. . . as my two siblings played the violin before me,” Keithahn said. “It was kind of tradition. I started singing in choir at school, then began vocal lessons in sixth grade after starring in a local musical production and loved performing as a singer. I began studying more baroque and classical pieces in eighth grade and have really developed my voice since then.”

Also swept away by the lure of singing was Kellen Sapp, a junior involved in show choir through City Lights, RBHS’s competitive show choir performance group. Sapp began to play the piano in fourth grade and later joined honors choir, where he fell in love with the community of singers. Sapp said he practices eight hours a week, but much of the time he designates for choir goes toward tryouts.

“There are multiple choirs, so at the end of the year there are auditions, but also throughout the year there are auditions for solos,” Sapp said. “Also, since everyone else is so good, it pushes you to try to be good because you don’t want to be the one person sticking out as bad.”

Sapp continues to improve his singing with performances through City Lights, chamber choir and district choir. He also plays in his church’s handbell choir, performed in the school musical last year and recently auditioned at Theater Reaching Young People and Students where he will play Hans in “Frozen Junior” Nov. 16-17. Sapp remains involved with music because he is passionate about fine arts and enjoys working with his fellow musicians.

“Freshman year I did not have hardly any friends in choir with me,” Sapp said. “I knew some of the people in choir but not really well, and they weren’t in my choir. But I became friends with the people in that choir, and some of those people are the people I look forward to seeing in choir every day.”

Orchestra director Alison Lankheit also noted friendships as an important aspect of musical involvement. For her, participation in a performance ensemble creates a “sense of community, a sense of belonging.”

In addition, Lankheit said benefits of orchestra include the development of skills such as communication, problem solving and team building.

Besides friends, Sapp said his motivation also stems from the prospect of receiving more challenging pieces.

“Harder music is often the better music,” Sapp said. “It sounds really good because of these complicated things that are going on, [and] that’s the music that the more advanced choirs get to sing, so that’s part of the motivation to be in them. It is better music.”

Keithahn’s drive for staying musically involved is to continue to improve at singing and cello. Although she has a rigorous music schedule, she doesn’t plan to play professionally.

“When I was little, I really wanted to be a professional musician, either a singer or cello player,” Keithahn said. “At that time, music was what I was good at, and it interested me. Now I am interested in a whole lot of things. From biology, medicine, environmental studies and sustainability, non-profit or even religious studies, I have been exposed to so many other topics, and I would love to major or find a career in one of them.”

Even though she does not intend to pursue a music-focused career, Keithahn wants to keep music in her life. She is considering a music minor and wants to play in her college symphony orchestra.

“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t practice cello or have music in my day somehow,” Keithahn said, “so giving it up completely would hurt me in a way.”

Like Keithahn, many of Lankheit’s students practice daily and place high importance on music. Some of them aspire to study music performance or education. Before encouraging them to go down this path, however, she tries to inform them of what college and career level music look like and the different options they have.

“When a student expresses an interest in majoring in music, I might have a discussion about what that might look like to them,” Lankheit said. “Do they want to perform? Do they want to teach? Do they want to go into business? It depends on where the passion and interests lie.”

Part of the reason Lankheit discusses different options is the inherent rigor of music school. Some of her students say they love music so much they feel that playing for a living might ruin this passion for them.

“Music as a major or career can also be a major dose of reality for many,” Lankheit said. “Some students pursue music but realize it is much more difficult or more time consuming than they had planned.”

When she was in high school, Lankheit knew she wanted to teach. After deciding to major in music, she focused her attention on education because it aligned with her goals more than a performance degree did.

Sapp also said he does not intend to get a degree in music. Much like Keithahn, he enjoys music but does not wish to pursue it as a career. He said he hopes to pursue a college education in theater technology and design while singing on the side.

“Right now, I have ways that I can continue to do music while focusing on other things,” Sapp said. “And I know that I will, in the future, through community theater and church choir. I know that I can keep doing music.”

Why do you play music? Let us know in the comments below.