Last month, we caught up with Elemental Choir alum Sarah Linowes, who is now a singer in 9th grade at Santa Monica High School.
DR. JO (also known as Josephine Moerschel, our Executive & Artistic Director) LOVED HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH SARAH ABOUT HER PAST EXPERIENCES WITH ELEMENTAL MUSIC, HER ADVICE FOR OUR YOUNG MUSICIANS, AND HOW SHE HAS BEEN KEEPING BUSY EVEN DURING THE PANDEMIC. READ THE INTERVIEW BELOW!
JM: Which choir are you in at Samohi?
SL: I’m in the Treble Chorus, which is the first chorus that all girls go into when they transfer or when they’re freshmen.
JM: And what choirs were you in as a middle schooler?
SL: I was in the Senior Girls Chorus as a 6th grader, and then the Norsemen Honor Choir & Madrigals in 7th and 8th grade.
JM: Which kind of ensemble do you prefer and why?
SL: I prefer being in a mixed ensemble because I think being able to hear the high sopranos and the low basses in a song – I prefer that. But I also like being in an all-girls choir because it’s nice to have people that you can more easily relate to...but both are good!
JM: When were you in Elemental Choir?
SL: I was in Elemental Choir in 4th and 5th grade. I think I joined in the first year they started the choir program.
JM: Do you have any favorite memories of being in EC? I know that was a long time ago.
SL: I do! I remember when it was so fun to be able to practice at other elementary schools. And once I joined the middle school choir, I already had friends and people that I knew from [Elemental Choir]. And also when I was in 5th grade, some of the 3rd graders came in. Even though they were 2 years younger than me, I got to kind of mentor and help them. Then when they were in 6th grade and I was in 8th grade, I would see them around campus and we would remember each other.
JM: Were you a mentor for EC at any point in time?
SL: I was not because at JAMS I was in the theater program and in Madrigals so I was always occupied after school. But yeah, I would’ve liked to be if I had the time!
JM: If you could give one piece of advice to our younger musicians, what would that be?
SL: Practice your music outside of rehearsal because it’ll be a big help, and try different parts because I got to try being an alto and soprano. And even though the parts are not very different in elementary school, it was fun to see how hard it was for me to hold a harmony and if I was good at singing higher or lower.
JM: What part do you sing now?
SL: Now I’m a soprano but sometimes I’ll switch to alto if it gets too high, or if they just need people on that part, I like to switch over.
JM: As a freshman, I know you’re starting your time at Samohi in a really untraditional way. How has the choir experience been for you so far this year?
SL: Honestly, it’s been pretty amazing because of what we’re going through. Mr. Hulls, the teacher, is always so engaging so everyone has their camera on. We’re muted so we just listen to him sing and then we repeat but we’re at our homes so it’s not confusing. And we also do SmartMusic assignments so that’s like recording ourselves singing and he can grade it. We had a concert which was amazing that they did that, where we sent in video and audio recordings of ourselves and people could do solos if they wanted. It was just awesome to watch that and be able to be a part of it.
JM: Was Elemental Choir different in 4th grade vs. 5th grade for you?
SL: It was a little different - the mentors were just in 5th grade, and there were way less people when I was in 4th grade.
JM: It got a little bigger that second year!
SL: Yeah, but it was nice because I did it with one of my best friends and then we were able to make other friends and continue over in the years to come.
JM: That’s great. So I’m curious - you’re still at the beginning of your high school years. What kind of musical goals do you have, whether it’s while you’re in high school or beyond high school?
SL: I think for high school, I want to continue in the choir program. I know in the higher ensembles, they go on amazing trips...and they’re just so good when you listen to them, and so that’s a goal for me. And out of high school, I don’t know. I would like to do a performing arts thing, but I also have other goals. So that one is probably less likely.
JM: So what kind of other goals do you have?
SL: I want to be an architectural drafter or some sort of engineer.
JM: Wow, that’s great! You know, there’s always the need for acousticians and people to design concert halls and all of those great things too...so it’s helpful when there are people who have a lot of different interests and can pull from all of their different skill sets!
I’m curious...it’s been a few years since you were in Elemental Choir. How do you feel that that experience influenced your musical trajectory in the last four years?
SL: I liked being in choir in elementary school but there are so many kids and not everyone is there because they really want to sing, you know? A lot of people just join to be with their friends and stuff - they think it’s easier than an instrument. But I think that being in Elemental Choir, I was surrounded by people who wanted to be there and worked hard to get in, so I was able to see other people who wanted to do the same things as I did.
And also I think it definitely helped me with my theory. We focused a lot more on music theory in Elemental Choir, so that helped me when I got into the middle school choir and it made my audition for those choirs and also honor choir much easier.
JM: My last question is...we’re in month 10 now of the pandemic and obviously music-making is so different now than it was when we could all be in person, right? What kind of musical projects have you been a part of since the pandemic, whether it’s for school or outside of school?
SL: Sometimes if I hear a song on my phone that I really like and it seems to have an easy piano or ukulele [line], I’ll just try and do that because I like to be figuring something out, and then I can sing and I’ll play it for my family. Also my mom - she plays bass - and so I’ve been helping her record things. She helps out with the orchestra at JAMS. And also for my grandpa’s birthday, we did a little video with my aunt as well and her family.
JM: Music becomes a really nice gift for other people - it’s a really nice thing to be able to share with others.
I’m so glad to hear that you’re still singing after all of these years - it makes us really, really happy to know that we had some small part in getting you all excited about music.
SL: Yeah I just love [Elemental Choir Director] Ms. Spike! I actually moved to CA in 4th grade and so I chose choir as my elective and she made me sing more and got me into Elemental Choir. And then me and my friend that joined Elemental Choir with me, we sang the National Anthem at a Little League game! It was really fun and I felt so special to be singing it in front of all of those families. It was really amazing and I really appreciate having Ms. Spike for all those years in a row.