STUDENT PROFILES
“ It was pretty much inevitable that I would end up playing an instrument of some sort while growing up.”
OLIVIA LANGLEY INGRAINED WITH HARMONY
On a typical week Olivia Langley will attend five hours of rehearsals with the Portland Youth Philharmonic orchestra and five hours of practice with the Pacific Youth Choir. She’ll practice on her own throughout the week, sometimes have an extra rehearsal later in the week, attend class to sing in the school choir, participate in the OES a cappella group, and perhaps perform in a concert or two. It sounds like a lot, but not for Olivia—she loves it. “I guess you could say that music is a big part of my
life,” said Olivia. “It’s just a part of who I am.” Olivia’s interest in music began at an early age. Her mother
played the flute through high school and college, and her father enjoys singing and listening to classical music. “It’s kind of ingrained through my family,” she said. “It
was pretty much inevitable that I would end up playing an instrument of some sort while growing up.” Te piano was the first instrument that Olivia started playing; she was only four years old! She now plays four different instruments and with each one, she’s also been able to learn new skills that she can apply to her schoolwork. “Tere are lots of skills that you learn through music
that are applicable to other areas, such as the dedication to be able to sit and practice the same thing over and over every day to make it better,” said Olivia. “And also math is used in music a lot for rhythms so you’re constantly doing math as you’re playing even though you don’t realize it.”
Another skill that music has allowed her to develop is leadership. Olivia is the soprano section leader for the school choir and during first semester, the other three sopranos were each freshman and very new to singing in a choral setting. Tis gave Olivia the opportunity to mentor them and be a role model. She also had the opportunity to take on a leadership
role this year during the Creating Harmony Winterim, which was a Chorale Ensemble with OES and Oregon Islamic Academy (OIA). Many of the students from OIA had never participated in a musical concert before. “Working with the students from the Oregon Islamic
Academy was really fun,” said Olivia. “Getting to talk to and getting to know people from different schools with different musical backgrounds was wonderful. And just the message about peace, hope, and love was really inspiring to be part of.” Much of Olivia’s musical training has been off campus but she
knows that she wouldn’t be where she was today if it wasn’t for the support of her teachers. “I’m really thankful that OES has given me the opportunity to pursue music, and I’m especially thankful for the music teachers that I have worked with over the years,” said Olivia. “Tey each have been very inspiring to me and I’m grateful for them.”
Next year Olivia will be attending Brown University and hopes to have the opportunity to continue her musical career, perhaps through one of the 15 a cappella groups on campus.
Summer 2015 17
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