I must admit, I used to hate piano lessons; I'm glad my parents persuaded me into practicing here and there. (I told my dad that if he bought me the Legend of Zelda I would continue to play piano. It worked!) I started taking piano lessons from Ms. Stenoski in the third grade. I continued for a few years and then stopped. It was decided by me that since I was in Little League I didn't have enough time to practice (the truth was I just didn't want to :-O ). At the end of my eighth grade year I started taking lessons from Mrs. Hindmarsh for about a year or so. That was a lot of fun but I still couldn't seem to find any time to practice. I learned some good classical pieces that I can somewhat play to this point.
I didn't realize when I started playing Tenor Saxophone in 6th under the direction of Mrs. Woodard that I would find my instrument of choice. The next year I had Mrs. Greisch, and my eighth grade year I had Donna Lewis (not the famous singer; a music teacher from Illinois). I almost quit after middleschool... good thing my Dad came around again. He used some of his wisdom and persuaded me to continue. Man, I really don't know what I would have done otherwise, thanks Pops. Mrs. Woodard taught the high school band the four years I was there and it was great. I learned an immense amount about music and leadership. I am currently playing for the Ricks Jazz Lab Band, and the Basketball band. It has been a blast, and the 7 am rehearsals are becoming more and more natural.
While I was in high school I played bassoon for a few years. It was fun while it lasted :)
I really wish I had some pictures of my sax. She's my little baby. (I'm trying to come up with a name for her. Right now it's Sally. Suggestions? E-mail me.)
Special thanks to (in attempted chronological order) Ms. Stenoski, Mrs. Woodard, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Greish, Mrs. Hindmarsh, Mr. Pape, Mrs. Kidman, Mr. Hintze, Brother Brague, Brother Brown and all the others who have made music wonderfully enjoyable for me as well.