When it comes to the arts, junior Evie Ishak is a force to be reckoned with. As a skilled musician,artist, and embroiderer, Ishak never hesitates to give each of her endeavors intense dedication.
Ishak began choral music in the sixth grade, choosing choir as she explained, “When [Fisher Music] toured the elementary schools, the choirs were always better because the band people didn’t know how to play instruments yet.” Since then, Ishak has established herself as a stellar choral student – not only within the high school, but on the regional and state levels. This year, Ishak auditioned and qualified for the California Choral Directors Association’s Coastal Region and All-State Honor Choirs. As a member of the LGHS Treble Choir, Ishak has emerged as a section leader and a soloist, with her most recent solo being in David Moore’s arrangement of Will the Circle be Unbroken? Ishak explained her preference for Treble Choir rehearsals over performances: “I love rehearsing with these people, and I like just sitting in there and absorbing the music that we’re making. It’s crazy that a group of people can come together and [within] the first five minutes of class just be making extraordinary sound.”
Outside of choir, Ishak is a vocalist for the school’s Jazz Band, which she also recently picked up the trumpet for. She reasoned, “I learned to play [trumpet] last year-ish, because [I] didn’t [have] many songs as a vocalist. Now, I have a way to fill time and practice an instrument.” Ishak can also play the piano and guitar, and she deemed picking up her instruments one of her “favorite hobbies.” Additionally, Ishak frequently takes to the stage for the LGHS talent shows and recently performed at the Spirit Rally with Brass Chaos, a group that swings brass instruments over each other while blindfolded.
When she is not at school, Ishak focuses on composition and songwriting, composing everything from orchestral movements, which she has recorded with LGHS orchestra students and released on YouTube, to music videos and song covers. She detailed, “It’s really fun to have music as an outlet, because it just lets you express everything that you’re feeling on your own terms, which school music might not give you the ability to do.”
Ishak declared some of her biggest role models as LGHS Choral Director Ma. Ricel Riley and her piano teacher Sam, who taught her the instrument and jazz theory over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the difficulties of online learning.
Beyond music, Ishak loves searching for new artistic hobbies. She explained, “I do embroidery and painting commissions. I also do sketch work [and] watercolors. I hem, and I am learning how to knit. It’s any hobby I can pick up.” Notably, Ishak embroiders Converse and pants for both herself and others, an activity she began after she saw videos of embroidered pants. Dismayed by the high price of the pants, Ishak opted to teach herself how to embroider instead.
In the little time when she is not focused on the arts, Ishak enjoys spending time with her dog Sophie and her brother’s roughly 30 fish. She also managed the LGHS Girls’ Volleyball Team this year after playing the sport previously.
In the future, Ishak hopes to continue music in college and shared that her dream job would be “to write music for movies, like video games and movie orchestra kind of things.” She concluded, “I just hope to keep singing with people and playing my trumpet, because it brings me joy.”
Categories: People