Lucas Schwerdtfeger
Humanity is shackled by their limited means of experiencing the universe, jailed by their five feeble senses. What unshackled me from my chains is the universal language of our species —music. While I’ll never understand what composers were feeling when they wrote their melodies, I can understand how it makes me feel; in the words of Igor Stravinsky, “I haven’t understood a bar of music in my life, but I have felt it.” When I perform in theaters, churches, or conference rooms, I relish not just in the sounds I make but the versatility of the stories I am telling. My proudest achievement has been my creation of a percussion chamber ensemble within my school where one didn’t previously exist. Getting to arrange and direct these groups has taught me much about the importance of inspiring others to love music and push themselves to improve. Understanding the difference between playing with wind ensembles, orchestras, percussion chamber ensembles, marching bands, and accompaniment groups has changed my perception of playing and of music. Moving into college, I want to continue to learn new forms and mediums of music. Lucas is a student at Jensen Beach High School.
