The Harpist by Rhea

The Harpist by Rhea - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

At the beginning of the school year, every fourth grader attending Schaumburg Christian School receives a list containing most musical instruments known to mankind (or, at least, those offered by the school) and selects a single one. The majority of the young, naïve students opted for a more familiar instrument, such as the trumpet or piano; however, ever determined to stand out from the crowd, one little girl proudly circled “harp.” Thus, as a harpist, my journey into the musical realm began.
After years of solo performances and private lessons, I finally gathered the courage to play alongside other musicians; in ninth grade, I joined the Seven Lakes High School Orchestra. At the orchestra’s first concert, safely hidden behind the violas, I observed the orchestra as an outsider and until I reached the conclusion that the ensemble functioned as a living, breathing entity, flowing majestically in unison, and frankly, I feared a single incorrect string plucked by my shaky fingers would shatter that fragile flow. Sophomore year, my director offered me a promising opportunity to “exhibit my talents”: an opportunity called William Grant Still’s Ennanga (the Ugandan word for harp), a musical composition featuring “the grace and majesty of the harpist”. The endless rehearsals and practice sessions that followed allowed me to uncover a whole new medium of expression that I couldn’t tap into in math or history class. With every swell and fall, music always left some room for me to add my personal touch. At our final performance of Ennanga, as I sat center stage, inches from the violinists, I realized that the orchestra acted not as a single entity, but rather consisted of a majestic plethora of talented and ambitious musicians who each contribute their own unique flavors to the final performance.
Ever since that faithful day in fourth grade, music directly influences the way I view my world, make decisions, and solve problems and educates me on the importance of teamwork and trust. In an orchestra, each musician learns his/ her individual part prior to rehearsal. If one musician falters during a performance, their whole instrumental section gets thrown off course, haltering the dynamic flow of the music. Members of an orchestra must learn to place their trust in one another while setting high standards for themselves in order to reach their maximum potential. In addition, choosing to play challenging solo works by diverse composers, such as Sergei Prokofiev’s Prelude Op. 12, No. 7 and George Frideric Handel’s Tema con Variazioni, allows me to expand the breadth of my time management skills and range of musical technique. Although I hope for a career in business, I extremely proud my experiences and skills I gained in the music realm.
Sitting for hours upon hours in our dining room, accompanied by only my harp and a metronome and a few daunting measures of music, I accept all my efforts will probably come down to ten minutes in front of a higher- respected musician whose sole purpose is to rate or rank my performance. At the same time, the hours I spend preparing for those ten minutes belong to me, because alone, I immerse myself into every crescendo, rallentando, and cadenza, strenuously analyze every measure down to the sixteenth note, and love every second of it. I am incredibly grateful for my entry into the Texas All- State Orchestra through competitive audition; now beginning my eighth year as a harpist, I manage to find opportunities such as Texas State Solo-Ensemble Contest, UIL Solo and Ensemble, and TMEA Regional Orchestra to achieve that flawless performance. I will most likely never perfectly execute a piece or even single measure of music; however, I make time to sit in that secluded corner and immerse myself in every composition that comes my way, because no matter the outcome of my final performance, “to play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable (Ludwig Van Beethoven).”