The Soundtrack of Her Life

Many teenagers have the luxury of a Saturday routine that includes waking up well into the afternoon and then eating cereal on the couch while binging TV. Lottie Hicks, however, does not have this luxury.
While most students are enjoying their Lucky Charms cereal while watching their favorite shows, Hicks is listening to special guest musicians who come to her piano school.
Her Saturdays are for music.
Her life is for music.
Hicks has been playing the piano for over a decade and has switched between a few teachers in the process. She is a student at The Gifted Music School (GMS) and has loved the experiences she has there.
“I know this sounds cheesy, but I love the people I have met there,” Hicks said. “Supporting each other through competitions and goofing off backstage are some of my favorite memories.”
When deciding what instrument to play and where to go for lessons, Emily Hicks (Hicks’ mother) was drawn to GMS for the multitude of opportunities the school offered.
“They took music education seriously and wanted to provide the tools for the children to succeed and grow,” Emily said. “They also offer paths to take a child to the highest level of playing their instrument, which is invaluable.”
On Fridays, Hicks attends a choir and then a music listening class. On Saturdays, she has music theory, piano ensemble, and piano history classes. Special guests often come and talk to the students as well.
Twice a year, Hicks does Juries (this can be compared to Federation for violinists). This is a chance for Hicks to play in front of the entire faculty of GMS who will give a score and feedback to her after she performs a piece she has prepared in advance.
It is intense but necessary for those who want to excel in music.
She travels to her teacher’s house each time she has a lesson. On weekdays, she practices anywhere between 1-3 hours, but over the weekends or any free time she has, she will practice up to six hours. Piano is essentially her part-time job.
With this dedication, Hicks continues to excel daily in her artistic skills as her fingers fly over the white keys.
Hicks’ piano career does not stop at all the classes and countless hours practicing she continues to do weekly. She has entered and placed in many national and international competitions. One of these competitions was the International Romantic Period Competition.
These competitions will either have her perform in person for the judges or submit an online video. The two biggest obstacles are the nerves of performing in person and submitting a perfect video.
Hicks expressed her anxieties about performing starts with hearing all the amazing people that are playing before her. However, in one of her most recent competitions, one of the judges was her piano teacher from GMS.
“Seeing a teacher that I knew as one of the judges made me feel completely safe and confident in my performance abilities,” Hicks said.
When the competition requires her to submit an online video of her piece, she spends hours and hours trying to get the perfect recording. This aspect of music can be very hard and draining as musicians are forced to become perfectionist over every measure of music.
One thing that separates Hicks from a good pianist and a great musician is her dedication to all fields of music. In February, she competed at the Music Listening Contest Nationals in Minneapolis, Minn. In the context, participants listen to music selections that are between two and 10 seconds. Once it is paused, they have to identify the style, era, and, at times, even the composer of that song. To prepare, she has to essentially memorize a playlist of classical music. She was given 21 songs that she had to identify in mere seconds when a clip was played. And there are always surprise songs that are played as well.
“I only listened to that playlist the week leading up to the competition,” Hicks said.
Hicks laughed about visiting Minnesota in February. One night, she walked down to the Mississippi River and felt like “my fingers were going to fall off.”
A dangerous choice for a pianist, but Hicks made it through the night will all digits intact.
She is also working hard in her music history and theory classes. She is dedicated to learn all she can in this field that will help her excel into her future career.
The words Emily used to describe Hicks as she plays are “graceful and confident.” She can place high in her competitions through her rigorous preparation that allows her to achieve excellence. This strive for perfection is evident through the growth of her piano career.
One of Hicks’s favorite activities to do with the piano is to sight read something new. She loves sitting down and playing a piece she hasn’t seen before.
Hicks is planning to study music in college, focusing on piano, and pursue a career in composition. Her ultimate dream is to start film scoring and song writing.
Hicks was inspired to pursue composition partly due to Joe Hisaishi’s films, one of which is Spirited Away. This movie has become the soundtrack of her life. It is a big part of her childhood and has motivated her to chase her dreams in the music department.
“The music in these films is so powerful and inspiring,” Hicks said. “Music can do so much and create such nostalgia; I would love to create something this inspiring.”
As fun as national competitions may seem, school is still often an endless source of work and stress.
She is a great example of a student who has learned to love learning. She is a part of Symphony Orchestra as the assigned pianist and is in the IB and AP combined music theory class.
“Some of my favorite attributes about Lottie is how ambitious she is,” Emily said. “She’s so driven with everything that she does and is completely self-motivated to accomplish her goals.”
She loves the community and atmosphere of the students in the IB Program as they collaborate together, complain together, and succeed together. Having this supportive group of peers, helps Hicks as she is constantly balancing the demands of playing piano at a high level and keeping up with school.
Even with all the challenging classes Hicks takes, she still makes room for fun social activities to have the full high school experience.
Mikelle Chatterton, one of Hicks’ great friends, loves to spend time with her on the weekends when she isn’t grinding on the piano.
“Lottie is so amazing and dedicated to her work,” Chatterton said. “And she is always a caring, supportive, and kind friend.”
Throughout all the difficulties, Hicks has been able to find a good balance between piano, school, and her social life. Hicks is a member of the Environmental Club, ASL Club, and Kindness Counts Club. She enjoys being able to find ways to get involved at Highland and give back to her community.