In late 2019, a young Rose Guevara walked into Harmony Middle School to pick her instrument. Now as a senior, Guevara’s life is centered around her love for music.
“I’ve played viola since sixth grade, so seven years…I chose it because my sister was playing, and I wanted to be like her. On instrument tryout night, I liked how it sounded the best,” Guevara recounted, looking back on the start of her musical career.
Starting in 2021, Woodgrove Orchestra Director Mrs. Samantha Oakley has watched and guided Guevara. “Her freshman year, I would hear her in the practice room shredding through the hardest parts of her music, and she wouldn’t give up until she was comfortable with whatever passage she was working on. That grit was a primary force for her in the color guard and aided in her leadership there,” said Oakley. “Rose is extremely musical. She has a natural ability to interpret notes and play them with musicality. This skill is very hard to teach and very few musicians come by it naturally,” Oakley shared about Guevara’s skill. “She is very lighthearted and enjoys camaraderie within the ensemble.”
After joining the color guard club at Harmony, Guevara performed until 8th grade when the year was cut short by COVID. Guevara rejoined the Woodgrove club freshman year when her sister’s friends begged her to try it again. With 10 seasons under her belt, Guevara feels she has “learned to take criticism very well” and that “talking to others has become a lot easier.” Alongside the boost in confidence, she also feels that she has increased her level of strength through the rigorous training it takes to perform.
Guevara plays viola for the Chamber Orchestra, the highest level attainable by a student at Woodgrove, and has performed very well. “It gets a little tense sometimes, but we all work together as a group, and it’s a good time. It’s something I look forward to,” Guevara stated. Time management is important for a musician with a crowded schedule. “We do a football concert, we do a winter concert, and then we do a spring concert,” she explained. She is currently preparing for the spring concert, the last of the year.
While she only plays viola in class, Guevara has demonstrated her “musicality” by teaching herself the guitar. “During COVID, my parents got me a guitar and I started learning on my own, with YouTube and then a little app that I have to learn music with,” said Guevara. After learning the basics, Guevara’s love for the instrument grew. Outside of school, Guevara plays her guitar from time to time at Backstreet Brews, a restaurant in Lovettsville. Guevara has been offered payment from the owner of Backstreet Brews, but she has turned it down, saying, “No girl. I just like to do it for fun.”
With a true love for music, Guevara is setting off to college at James Madison University for Music Education. “It’s kind of a split major in a way, because you do the music classes, then you also have to do the education classes, so I’ll be very busy.” With an exciting and busy future ahead of her, Rose is heading off to college next fall ready to keep playing.