Have you ever wondered what the daily lives of Good Counsel’s musical arts students look like? Here we can take a look at how they balance their passion for music with their education.
Good Counsel’s Musical Art’s program offers students a wide variety of classes you can take at all levels allowing everyone to have an opportunity to express their musical talents. These students get opportunities to perform during concerts, masses, festivals, and much more outside of school. This is a great way for many to explore their talents within the music industry whether it be singing or playing their favorite instrument.
Many of these students also participate in other extracurriculars like sports, clubs, jobs, and internships on top of their academic responsibilities which can make it complicated for students to maintain a balance between the two. Ava Cristillo, a junior who is a part of the Chamber Choir and Continual Praise is also an intern for the athletic department as well as managing their score boards, the Junior Varsity girls lacrosse team and the Varsity girls basketball team, states, “it’s hard at times, but above everything, choir comes first. When I am with my team and coaches and I have a choir practice or performance, I choose choir.”
One major opportunity for the musical arts students was the recurring band/choir trip. This year it was at Nashville Tennessee, that left on April 4th and returned on the 8th, missing three days of school. Chloe Shin, a junior who is the Concertmaster of the string ensemble, stated that “last year was a really big issue trying to catch up” and that it was “tiring coming back.” Making up a lot of school work, tests, and/or quizzes can be very stressful, however these students strive to do their best and make sure they don’t fall behind. With that stated, these students say they practice singing or playing their instrument, on average 45-60 minutes a day outside of class, sometimes longer as well as balancing their rigorous academic schedule being in the IB program and the STEM program.
Being a part of Good Counsel’s choir/band also provides many leadership opportunities and helps you grow in your communication and teamwork skills. When the band/choir trip approached, Chloe Shin had talked about “putting in a lot of prep” and “helping other violinists practice, going over hard measures with them to make them feel more confident about their playing” as she is the Concert Master of the string ensemble: her job is to help the others, make sure everyone has the correct notations, keep the section together, and much more. Ava Cristillo also states that “we really know how to help each other… we are always there for each other.” She speaks very highly of the choir and even states that she feels “more confident with my choir than without.” Being a part of a team that shares the same interests as you is always a great feeling as you know you can always turn to a teammate for help! Ava Cristillo also mentioned that she loves to “help classmates more in reading the music” as she had known how to read musical notes due to learning to play the piano years ago. She even stated that it gives her “a sense of hard work which had led me to winning the first chair award.” This award is for the student who has achieved the highest level of musicianship and the highest quality of performance. Ava is a very dedicated choir member!
Music is a great way for people to express themselves and how they feel, and it comes in all different genres, one for everyone. It even gives you something to reflect your true thoughts and feelings on and can be a great way to release some stress. As Ava states, “singing is my stress reliever.” Good Counsel’s Fine Arts students are a very dedicated and talented group of kids and they too can struggle with maintaining a balance in their lives with the responsibilities of school work.