High school can be a very stressful time for students. Trying to stay on top of homework, getting good grades, practicing sports, making time for friends… It’s a lot. When all of these things pile up, kids tend to need an escape. For most high schoolers, the escape is scrolling social media, binge-watching shows, or simply taking a nap.
For George Smith, his escape is the piano. When he needs a break from all of his homework, constant extracurricular activities, or he just wants to practice, Smith turns to the ivory keys.
“Piano is an opportunity for George to express creativity and leave other stuff behind,” Smith’s father Tim Smith said. “It’s a good release for him, and it’s been fun to have him play in our home and listen to him improve as he works determinedly on his pieces.”
From a young age, Smith was constantly around music, specifically the piano.
“George’s older siblings all took piano, and he grew up with a piano in the house that was always being played,” Tim said. “He wanted to be in the mix, so he would always try to play.”
When Smith was just five years old, he started taking lessons. He quickly fell in love with the piano and just took off from there.
“Once George started taking piano lessons, his mom always encouraged him to practice. After that, he just really enjoyed it and wanted to get better at it,” Tim said.
As Smith got better and better at the piano, he was forced to be more technical and try harder pieces. This is the point where many students quit and decide it’s not worth the grueling repetitive practicing. George is not most students.
“With piano, there’s always room to improve or explore new genres and pieces,” Smith said. “So, I try and make piano exciting by playing new things or making it a recursive process.”
Smith always has something to work on. He has lessons weekly, plays for the jazz band at Highland, and performs in multiple recitals a year. His pieces take months to prepare, and he must memorize and master them in order to be ready for recitals. On top of all this, George plays the French horn in the school’s band.
Clearly, Smith has a lot of experience with music, but the Sterling Scholar award takes more than a great resume. To actually receive the Sterling Scholar award, applicants have to go through an audition and an interview that both must go very well.
“Any musician or artist knows it takes passion and dedication to achieve any goal you have,” Smith said. “I really wanted to go for Sterling Scholar because I thought I would have a good shot. I love music, and thought that being Sterling Scholar would give me another opportunity to perform at a high level.”
Smith worked very hard to prepare pieces that he felt would be good for his audition. For some, this may have been very challenging, but it was just like another recital for Smith. He has to prepare and memorize big pieces all the time. He came into his audition prepared and killed it.
“I honestly felt really good about my audition. I was happy with how I performed, and I really liked the songs I was playing,” Smith said. “I also feel that I kind of talk too much in general, so the interview wasn’t very stressful.”
Multiple talented musicians from Highland auditioned, but George came out on top. He was very deserving of the reward, and it was a big deal for him to see all of his work on music pay off on something.
“It’s a very competitive category, so I was thrilled I was the one chosen,” Smith said. “It was very rewarding to get the award after years or practicing.”
Smith has even recently started teaching lessons of his own. He is also preparing for a recital this May and will continue to perform for friends and family as long as he can.
Smith’s love for music has not only brought joy and peace to his life, but his many performances have been meaningful and moving to many others. He will go on to college and plans to keep pursuing some form of music.
“I’m going to minor in sound engineering in college, but I plan to use piano and music my entire life,” Smith said.
