Electives are the classes that best fit our interests. We tend to make the most memories and find out what sparks our minds. Some are well known like culinary and ceramics; others, not so much, like guitar. 

With their concert season opener right around the corner, the students have been putting in a lot of work the past few weeks. 

“We have put a lot of work into our concert music this year. With practicing at school and practicing outside, as a class we’ve been making sure that our music is the best it can be when we have our opening concert,” sophomore Jenny Xiao said. 

With that said, preparing comes with a lot of compromises. Many of these kids are in multiple clubs, sports, and other extracurricular activities that take up a large portion of their time. 

“With the varying amount of extracurriculars we take, we still try and fit in time to play. Even if it’s 15 minutes or 45 minutes, practicing still fits into our schedules outside of school,” sophomore Wenli Wang explained.

While the students are the performers, they couldn’t do it without their teacher, Patrick Lalka. He gives them the support, strength, and inspiration they need to feel confident to take the stage. 

“Mr. Lalka makes jokes with us and treats us like equals. It doesn’t feel like I’m playing for my grade, it feels like I’m playing for a friend. He makes the atmosphere comfortable to be in,” Xiao shared.

Music fills our school and lives in many forms through our elective program. The guitar sparks joy in these kids, so if you are looking to start a new instrument or need to fill up an elective spot, guitar class is a great option.