Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2013 - (Page 8)

Music to My Ears by Ethan Cruikshank tHIn kSto Ck I close my eyes. No longer am I reading from my sheet of music, or even thinking about the individual notes. Instead, I am letting the music flow through my body. This is the feeling I want to share with others. My music education began when I was seven years old. Honestly, I can’t remember why I begged my mom to take lessons, but once I started, I wanted to be like Beethoven. After all, he was an incredibly accomplished musician. My instrument of choice, however, was the guitar. Following weekly lessons, I enthusiastically practiced each new song. From rock, blues, and classical to hip hop and rap, the sheer diversity of music styles amazed me. After playing for a few years, though, I felt that something was missing. I wanted more than to attend lessons once a week, practice, and play for my grandparents. I wanted to know as much about music as I could, and decided that learning to play another instrument would help. So in fifth grade, in addition to guitar lessons, I began taking viola lessons in the strings program at school. The viola seemed more exotic than the violin and cello that so many kids played, and I liked its sound. Learning the viola gave me a greater appreciation for classical music and style, and ultimately helped me realize that classical guitar was my passion. At the end of that year, however, budget cuts forced our county to eliminate the music program from the elementary school curriculum. For years, that program had given children the opportunity to play a musical instrument or sing in the choir. My brother and I had enjoyed and benefited from this program, and so had many of our friends, some of whom had gone on to join band or strings class in middle school. I felt bad that the younger children at my school wouldn’t have this opportunity. On a larger scale, the trend toward eliminating arts programs in U.S. schools meant that increasingly fewer children would have access to music programs. I wanted to do something that would help keep music education alive for some of them. 8 imagine mar/apr 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2013

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2013
Contents
Big Picture
In My Own Words
Music to My Ears
Together as One
Circle of Inspiration
Six Strings and a Dream
In Pursuit of Joy
Jazz Studies, Improvised
Music in College
From the Great Wall to the Golden Gate
Sines and Wonders
Selected Opportunities & Resources
My Journey Through the College Admissions Process
How It Feels to Run
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2013