Anna Guelcher is one of 91Classical’s inaugural Student Composer Fellows, studying vocal music. Get to know her with these six questions.

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Anna Guelcher has been playing the piano since she was 5, and she started playing oboe in the third grade. The high school junior was the first-chair oboist in the Tennessee All-State band in 2019. Anna also sings with Nashville Notes and has participated in the Tennessee All-State honor choir. Anna has written more than 10 pieces of instrumental music.

What is your instrument and what made you choose it?

I play the oboe.  Even when I was little, my family listened to a lot of classical music.  One of our favorites was Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf”. (The duck in “Peter and the Wolf” was played by the oboe.)  We listened to it often.  When I was 8 years old, my older brother and I started band at Nashville Notes.  This is when I told my parents that I wanted to play the oboe.

What do you listen to for fun?

I listen to classical music for fun.

Who is a composer who has influenced your music?

Mozart is a composer who has really influenced my composing.  I love how he created melodies and counter melodies that sound beautiful even to someone not trained in classical music.  Also, his modulations and transitions are written so smoothly that you hardly notice that they’re there, yet the effect that they give is amazing. Bach is also a composer who has impacted me, for the same reasons Mozart did.  I also love how his lyrics fit perfectly with his melodies.  Bach has influenced me the most when it comes to vocal music composition.

What are your other hobbies outside of music? 

My hobbies other than music consist of reading, writing, solving logic puzzles, baking, sewing, jewelry making, and paper crafts.

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

I definitely want to major in music.  I am not sure what area though; I love to compose, conduct, perform, and teach.  I would love to do all of these as a career. I am also considering a second major in scientific field, possibly chemistry.  Teaching is one of my passions so if I had to choose, that is probably the path that I would take, along with composing. 

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

This is a hard question to answer, but I decided that Shostakovich’s Symphony #5 is my favorite piece of classical music.  When I first heard it, though (we were playing it in orchestra), I did not like it at all.  I thought that the melodies/harmonies were very odd and it didn’t sound like what I was used to.  The more I listened to it and practiced it, however, the more I realized what an amazing piece it is.  Working out the difficult passages, I discovered that the apparently random runs were well thought out patterns that portrayed a certain mood or made a specialized effect.  Also, I was studying this piece in my music history class and learning about the fascinating history behind its composition.  The third movement is my favorite, especially the hauntingly beautiful oboe solo (what a surprise coming from an oboist).

Check back throughout the week as we shine a spotlight on our 2019-2020 class of Student Composer Fellows.
Click here for more information about the program.