What inspired you to start playing and making music?  

My inspiration to play music started at an early age. My grandfather was a band director for 30 years and would play the piano every time we visited, showing me how to play simple things. This piqued my interest in piano, and I began taking lessons at the age of 7. I continued lessons throughout elementary school, and an instrument showcase was hosted at my school in 4th grade to recruit some of us for the 5th grade beginner band. After testing on all of the instruments, percussion was one of the ones I scored the highest on, and because I recognized the layout of the keys on the bell kit from playing piano, I decided that that would be my instrument in band. From then on, I simply enjoyed percussion and looked for other playing opportunities to participate in, such as honor bands and extra-curricular orchestras.

What do you love most about music/performing with an orchestra?  

The thing that I love most about performing with an orchestra is the unique experience that the instrumentation of orchestral pieces gives compared to other readily available playing opportunities, such as concert and marching band. As someone who aspires to compose for media, being introduced to classic and influential repertoire and given the opportunity to perform it is something that is really only possible in the setting of an orchestra.

What are your plans/goals for after high school? How is music/participation in an orchestra helping you reach your goals (these can be musical or nonmusical goals)?  

After high school, I plan to go to college to study composition and hopefully compose for video games from then on. As I mentioned in my answer to the previous question, exposure to a variety of influential pieces, genres, and time periods is crucial for developing a broad understanding and perception of music, as well as often serving as inspiration even if I never write or listen to anything like it ever again. Additionally, continuing to develop my skills in the performance of my particular instrument (percussion) allows me to create and maintain an area of specialty for which I have an advantage when writing music involving it for a section of the ensemble that, apart from drum set, I feel is often overlooked, misunderstood, or underutilized by the majority of composers.

What is your favorite ASYO memory?

My favorite ASYO memories are the times when we have video called the composers of pieces we have played. Not only does this allow the composers to give direct feedback on our performance and interpretation of the piece, it grants us as performers direct insight into the idea that the composer had when writing it. Direct feedback can only go far in its usefulness, typically applicable to a select area of the composition, but as each performer has the personal responsibility to interpret the music in an informed and artful way, insight such as this allows for the performers to develop a much more personal  connection and understanding with the music and apply this knowledge to the entire piece, transcending anything that is just written on the page. For me especially, direct contact and communication with composers during opportunities such as these is also inspiring and informational because it allows me to accrue insight from composers who are clearly already successful in the field.