To celebrate the upcoming 20th Anniversary of Orpheus Academy(!), we invited students to submit poems about either making music with friends or making music to change the world.

We received so many great entries, and are excited to now share the winning poems with you!

The following students have won 1 free month of music lessons, as well as their choice of a free ukulele or 3 months free rental of a guitar, piano, violin, or cello!

Summer break never seems to last quite long enough, and many of our students are already planning ahead to make the most of it! In addition to Orpheus Academy's lessons and fun summer camps, extra summer free time means more exciting opportunities to share and appreciate music. We asked a series of "Would You Rather?" questions to help our students consider different ways to experience the joy of music this summer, so read on to discover what they had to say!

Lyla O.
The choice was clear for Lyla, who would much rather form a summer band with friends. She says, "I love hanging out with them so much," and would "enjoy it much more than playing alone."

​River S.
River had a different take, and preferred the idea of only playing music alone for the summer, as according to him, "I mostly only play alone anyways."

​Kai C.
Kai's friends clearly bring him joy, as he chose the option in which  "I get to play music with my friends and I get to see them."

Amelia
Amelia believes only playing music alone would be "totally better" and summarized why in just one word: "CALM."

Dave
Dave too thinks he would rather play solo for the summer. He currently finds it "hard to play with other people" as he "gets lost."

Abby S.
Abby had a very sweet response to the question, and would rather play in a summer band "because life is a beautiful melody" and "friends make it special."

Daniel P.
Daniel considered the choices quite practically, and decided that only playing music with his band wouldn't work for him "because I wouldn't be able to play songs without them," and he would "lose his skills."

Kajiri S.
Kajiri had a similar thought process as Daniel, and chose the solo option for the sake of consistency: "so I can play all the time."

Aarush T.
Aarush definitely appreciates being around friends, and chose the group option. In his own words, "it's better to be together FOREVER."

Arthi D.
Arthi also picked only playing music with a summer band of friends, "because I think that hanging out and playing music with friends is more fun than just playing music by myself."

Rishi S.
"Because I would be with my friends" is reason enough for Rishi to prefer the summer band option!

​Samuel
Samuel thinks only being able to play music with friends would simply "be more fun."

Zoey T.
Listening to songs around the campfire was the obvious answer for Zoey, who has "very sensitive ears" and therefore thinks that "maybe a big outdoor concert isn't the best." Zoe also believes a campfire setting would be fitting as "listening to songs is peaceful and relaxing."

​Kyon T.
Kyon chose to enjoy music at the campfire simply "because it is more fun!"

​River S.
River thinks there would be "too many people" at a big outdoor concert, and at a "campfire I'd probably be with friends."

Aarush T.
Aarush would "really like to be in a big concert."

​Daniel P.
Daniel also would prefer a big concert over a campfire. According to him: "because I don't know if people would be at the campfire and maybe they have something else to do."

​Kajiri S.
Kajiri thought about the choices in relation to what she already currently likes to do, and picked listening to songs around the campfire as "I'm in girl scouts."

Moukthika N.
Moukthika values originality, and would rather compose the music for a summer blockbuster movie because "you would have the opportunity to create something your own."

​Daniel P.
Daniel thinks the recognition that would come with composing for a movie would be great, "because everybody would see me and I would be famous." In addition to the original score he would create, he also would want to incorporate the song "Seven Nation Army" into the soundtrack.

Marc
Marc already has a vision in mind for the music he would write for a movie's original score: "suspenseful music."

​Nicco B.
Nicco went with creating a playlist for a big beach party as he believes it would would come with "more freedom," but he would still incorporate some of his own original pieces with "music I make on my keyboard."

Corban
Location is the name of the game for Corban, who would prefer creating the playlist for a beach party "because I would get to go the beach." Among Corban's rocking playlist, "Ode to Joy" would be featured.

Mira D.
Mira thinks "writing music for a movie would be more important and get more recognition."

​​Lillian
Lillian chose to make the music for a movie, and seems to have a very specific kind of scene in mind that she'd like to compose for: "so I can write music for when the main character falls off a cliff."

Aura T.
Aura isn't quite sure what kind of music she would incorporate, but would rather create a playlist for a big beach party "because you get to play more music!"

Kajiri S.
Kajiri had an easy decision to make, and picked the option that would allow her to go to the beach! She would definitely put "Rainbow Unicorn Unicorn" on her beach party playlist.

Audrey
Audrey didn't seem to know what a summer blockbuster movie is, but would make sure her beach party was keeping in theme with the location by making a playlist of "beach music."

​Avanthika S. K.
Avanthika thinks creating a beach party playlist would "be more fun" and would put less pressure on her as well. She "would make/add tropical music, that's kind of Hawaiian maybe."

Anushka S.
Anushka thinks piano music would be fitting for a beach party, and says she would prefer to make a playlist  "because I like the beach."

Eleanor
Eleanor recognizes the difficulty in composing music, and would instead rather create a playlist for a big beach party "because it is easier." She would ensure that it was a swanky party though by utilizing "jazz."

Sofia
Sofia would prefer to perform music at a backyard barbecue "because people enjoy music while they eat." She would play "Spanish Caballero," a fun and lively piece!

​Anya
Anya chose to perform music at a pool party, and the reason is simple: "I like parties!" She also says that "See Saw" would be among the songs she plays. In a later answer to the same question, Anya again picked performing at a pool party, for a similar reason: "I like pools!" This time she added "Ode to Joy" to the rotation.

Shuyao L.
Shuyao appreciates the more contained and personal nature of a backyard barbecue, and explains that it is "because I get to see my friends." Shuyao would perform "O Come Little Children" for those in attendance. Shuyao responded a second time to the question and said he would also play "Go Tell Aunt Rhody."

Kajiri S.
Although it might interfere a bit with her music, Kajiri would rather perform at a pool party "because I like to play in the pool." Among the songs she would play: "Bee Bee," "Queen Queen," and "Doggie Doggie."

Daniel P.
Daniel had a hard time deciding and ultimately selected both options "because I like for people to hear how I play." He would also bring a good variety to the songs he performed, including Bach and "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes.

​Anya
Anya prefers swimming to eating barbecue, and would play "Lean On Me," "This Is Your Time," and the bagpipes!

Gautham M.
Guatham isn't one to be distracted easily, and would perform music at a pool party as "there would be water splashing on me when I am playing." He would also keep the party going by playing "longer songs."

Samuel
Samuel enjoys a pool party more than a simple backyard get-together (even if there is food involved), and would play "Variations on a Theme of Corelli."

Ethan D.
Ethan thinks a pool party "would be joyful to play" at, and would include songs like "Party in the U.S.A." and "Surfin' USA" for his performance.

Ana C.
​Ana "doesn't do backyard barbecues sadly," so instead would play "Gaston" at a pool party.

It's hard to believe that 2022 is already here, but a new year is always a great time to set new goals, especially those of the musical variety! To help our students get the ball rolling on their musical goals for 2022, we put forward a series of "Would You Rather?" questions for them to answer. We received a lot of great responses that clued us in to the interests and priorities of our students, and we're excited to share them with you now!

To help kids think about their preference and goals in relation to composing and performing we asked: Would you rather...

• Be a talented songwriter who can’t play an instrument or sing?
• Or be a great musician who can’t write their own songs?​

Asher S.
Asher seems to value composing above all else. In her opinion,"songwriting is the most important part of guitar. "

Miller F.
Miller prefers the act of playing over songwriting, and simply stated that it was "because I want to be a musician."

Nora U.
Nora, who specifically requested that we mention her nickname, "Eating Machine," also prefers performing to composing.  Her reasoning for this is "because if I write songs then I can't play them."

Louisa B.
Louisa seemed saddened by the idea of being unable to play her instrument, and said she wouldn't want to just be a talented songwriter "because my guitar practice would go to waste."

​
​Sharing music with others is an important part of the process of learning any instrument, so to help kids think about their performance goals we asked: Would you rather...

• Play a song for your family?
• Play a song for a group of people you don't know?

Kaleigh X.
Kaleigh is more interested in playing for people outside of her family as she wants to share her talent with others and demonstrate what she's musically capable of!

​Corban M.
Corban "would feel more comfortable" playing a song for her family than people she doesn't know, and would prepare for the performance by practicing before dinner.

Eloise F.
Eloise "loves singing in front of new people," and said she'd rather perform in front of a group that she didn't know.

Louisa B.
Louisa would rather play a song for her family. In her words: "I know them better and I get stage fright. Ahh!"

Sloan H.
​Sloan also preferred to  play a song for family.

Playing music with others is a wonderful experience for a musician at any age or skill level, which is why Orpheus offers group Musicianship classes and many ensemble opportunities. To help our students think about their collaborative goals we asked: Would you rather...

• Play music alone?
• Or play with a group?

Louisa B.
Louisa would much rather play with a group. She said, "I would like to play music with my friends" and that by playing with others the performance "sounds more full like the actual song." Louisa does enjoy playing alone though, and likes that she doesn't "have to stop and wait for everybody to start."

Lizzie D.
Lizzie prefers to play music alone, but didn't specify why.
​
Corban M.
Corban thinks that "it would be funner to play in a group," and likes the collaborative process and sharing the spotlight with others. In Corban's own words: "If I make a mistake it is covered up-ish." At the same time, Corban enjoys the "freedom in picking what the songs are" when performing alone.

Johnny K.
Johnny unfortunately hasn't had the chance to play with a group before, but would very much like to. While he feels that playing music alone "is peaceful," he really likes "the sound of two or more people playing" together.

It's important for young musicians to begin to gauge their priorities, and to also think about how they can put a plan in motion to accomplish their goals. We asked: Would you rather...

• Play one song perfectly?
• Or play five songs just okay?

Alex W.
Alex definitely seeks a challenge, as he believes learning "the five songs just okay would be easier" and therefore would prefer to play one song perfectly. 

​Louisa B.
Louisa had an interesting response, and said that "there's no way (to learn a song perfectly), nothing's perfect." Instead, she believes the option of five songs just okay would be better than one.

Asher S.
Asher would rather play one song perfectly, and says this is because "I can already play five songs just okay." When asked about her plan of action, she says she would perfect a song "by practicing a lot and working hard!"

Nora U.
Nora also recognizes the importance of "practicing a lot and working hard," but says she would rather strive for perfection "because I could be famous from my song."

Conley R.
One song played perfectly is more appealing to Conley because "it sounds better."

Landon H.
Landon thinks learning five songs just okay would actually be a great starting point rather than an end goal, as "you can learn from your mistakes and make it better."

Presley S.
Presley would value playing one song perfectly because it would make her feel happy, and has a great multi-step plan to achieve this goal! She says she would "get help from her teacher, practice, listen to a recording and follow along," and would try each part of the song song by itself.

Louis F.
Louis decided to choose "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" as it features the one and only Rudolph, his favorite Christmas character.

Ethan D.
Ethan went with the tried and true "Jingle Bells," but specifically because "it has bells in it and the bells are beautiful."

Otis J.
Otis likes "Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah!" Hanukkah is his favorite Jewish holiday because "it's the only one where you get presents." This year, Otis's grandparents got him a wooden ventriloquist doll "that looks just like the one from Goosebumps." Otis thinks the doll is creepy so he named him Mr. Creepy.