Wilde Lake is home to many talented young musicians who come from different musical backgrounds. While walking through the Fine Arts Department, the different genres of music resonate as students create their own unique sounds. To get to the place they are at now, each musician has faced their own struggles, setbacks, and mental blocks along their journey, which has only made them stronger musically.

“The Paw Print” has chosen to highlight four of Wilde Lake’s musical “Top Cats.”

Keegan Collins-McCarthy: tackling solos

Sophomore Keegan Collins-McCarthy was inspired to tackle playing solos by his musical idol Yo-Yo Ma. Keegan started his musical journey in third grade when he chose to play the cello because of his favorite cellist.

“One of my main musical inspirations is the world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The low to high range of the cello I heard while watching his videos truly made me fall in love with this instrument,” he said.

Just like Yo-Yo Ma, Keegan has played many solos, but each solo comes with its own struggles. Keegan participated in the Howard County Solo and Ensemble Festival. Although he practiced his solo many times, he was still nervous to perform alone.

“The most challenging part of it was that I had to play by myself in front of a judge,” said Keegan. “I was nervous as I had never met the judge, but I was confident and ended up receiving the highest score possible.”

Even when everything does not go as planned, Keegan approaches his mistakes with humor.

“I once had a solo where I was accompanying a school choir and my bow slipped right out of my hand,’ he said. “You never know what can happen and just having a sense of humor goes a long way.”

Keegan’s perseverance through solos allowed him to bring comfort to his family and friends during the pandemic. Keegan started a series on YouTube called “Cello on the Porch” where he played and uploaded videos of his solos for his community to watch and relax.

“I published my videos on YouTube for friends and family to watch and help stay connected,” he said. “I found that no matter how much stress I was under, the cello was always a way for me to relax. I want to spread the joy of music to my friends and peers at school.”

Keegan’s talent on the cello is shared beyond YouTube, as he is a member of the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra (BSYO). “It’s been an amazing 4 years having the opportunity to play for the BSYO at the Meyerhoff,” he said.

Annika Seshadri: pressure of performing

Junior Annika Seshadri has known the pressure of performing since she was seven, when she found her calling to the flute. When she was a little girl, she knew she wanted to play an instrument, but she didn’t know which one.

When she walked into a music store with her parents at seven years old, she looked up and saw a picture of a little girl, just like her, playing a flute. At that moment, she decided the flute was for her, marking the start of an amazing musical journey.

Now, Annika plays the flute and piccolo at Wilde Lake. Her talents have not gone unnoticed, as two years ago, she won second place in Washington’s Junior Division Flute Society. She has only gotten better since then.

However, Annika says she still faces the pressure of performing. “I get very anxious when I know I’m being judged and listened to, and it makes me hyper aware,” she said. “Performance anxiety is definitely a common struggle for musicians, and I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of it. It’s just learning to be comfortable while feeling uncomfortable.”

Even with her struggles, Annika went on to win first place in Washington’s Senior Division as a sophomore last year. “I was proud because I was in the Junior Division the year before where I won second, so I felt like I had improved,” she said.

Annika pursues her passion for music outside of Wilde Lake’s Fine Arts Department as a member of the Baltimore Symphony Concert Orchestra and Maryland Senior All State Band. Through these organizations, she grows more confident on the stage day by day.

Autumn Wilkerson: dealing with rejection

Many singers struggle to deal with rejection, but senior Autumn Wilkerson’s rejections taught her to trust her talent.

Autumn comes from a musical family. Her mother is an opera singer. When she was younger, Autumn wanted to sing just like her mother, but now she is exploring a new passion of composing her own music.

Still, Autumn gives credit to her mom for being an inspiration. “From a young age, I was really inspired by my mom to sing,” she said.

Despite being surrounded by music her entire life, Autumn has experienced setbacks. Autumn has been rejected from choirs she auditioned for in the past. The rejection has made her strong, and she is now one of Wilde Lake’s star choir singers.

“The hard thing for me to overcome was accepting not getting roles or not getting certain singing parts,” she said. “I’ve auditioned for many GT choirs and state choirs, and it’s definitely a learning curve.”

Autumn perseveres through her challenges because her end goal is to use her talent to bring others joy.

“I needed to learn to get over my nerves and find my confidence within my singing,” she said. “I’ve really always been passionate about singing, and I love to make people happy and make people smile,” she said.

Jathan Nguyen: struggling with writer’s block

Junior Jathan Nguyen’s passion for music helps him persevere through the writer’s block that comes with playing an instrument. When he was younger, he would listen to rock music in the car with his dad, an experience that sparked his love for rock. His passion grew, and he began playing the guitar.

Along with this experience, Jathan always knew he wanted to stand out. “You always want to differentiate yourself from your cousins or your older siblings, and none of them were into music, so that was just a way to distinguish myself,” he said.

While Jathan tries to stick out from the crowd by writing his own music, he struggles with the feeling of being stuck in a cycle.

“I find myself getting stuck playing the same things, and it gets repetitive. So, I get another instrument, and I still can’t make anything new, and I get frustrated with that,” he said.

Despite this feeling, Jathan continues to pursue song writing and the guitar at Wilde Lake and through the band Vantage Point, which makes him an even stronger musician. “I write music. I’ve been writing music since eighth grade, so after three years, I have a couple of songs,” said Jathan.