Our 2020/2021 Student Composer Fellowship is well underway. To get to know them better, we asked each of the participants these six questions.

Cellist and pianist Sylvia Rapp is a freshman at Hendersonville High School. She is studying instrumental music with Cristina Spinei.

What is your instrument and what made you choose it? 

There are two instruments that I currently play: the piano and the cello. I started taking piano lessons when I was about 6 years old, but I can’t exactly remember why I wanted to play the piano. I might have just wanted to know what it was like. I started playing the cello because of a mistake that occurred while I was signing up for classes in sixth grade, strangely enough! I was supposed to be in band, but I was put in both band and orchestra.

In orchestra, I chose the cello because of its deep, rich tone. I didn’t think I would stick with orchestra, though. However, as I got better at the cello, I realized how much fun it was. Soon, it became one of my main instruments!

What do you listen to for fun?

I don’t really have a specific genre of music I listen to. Sometimes I listen to rock and alternative music, sometimes I listen to classical music, and sometimes I listen to instrumental video game music.

What are your other hobbies outside of music? 

Some of my hobbies include reading, taking hikes, drawing (mainly pictures of dragons) and playing video games.

What do you think you want to do for a career?

While I am a little uncertain on what I want to do for a living, I know it will be something along the lines of music. I would either want to become a performer, play in a symphony or an orchestra, or compose music for video games.

What is your #1 most favorite piece of classical music and why?

It has to be a tie between The Swan from Carnival of the Animals and Clair de Lune! Both of those songs are so lyrical and beautiful, and listening to them always clears my mind.