Arts Student of the Week Anna Enssle

Niwot High School senior Anna Enssle has the rare privilege among young musicians to say that she has performed at Carnegie Hall, twice.

During her junior year, Enssle auditioned for and was accepted into an honor choir in New York, where students from across the country met together to rehearse for a few days and then perform in the Hall. "It was such a surreal and wonderful experience," Enssle said. "I got to meet so many talented people who shared a deep love for creating music. I got to perform at a globally renowned venue." And she was fortunate enough to perform at Carnegie Hall again last summer with a group of singers from Niwot High School.

Laura Walters, the 2021 Teacher of the Year for Niwot High School, selected Enssle as Arts Student of the Week based on Enssle's strong musical abilities. "Anna sings in Evenstar, the top auditioned choir at Niwot. She is a very strong musician, reads music very well, and is never hesitant to ask a question if she or anyone in her section needs help. She has participated in our district honor choir all throughout high school, and this year made it into All State Choir."

Enssle has always had an ardent interest in music. As long as she can remember, she has loved singing and listening to music. She joined an afterschool choir in first grade, which continued until the end of her eighth grade year. Then she auditioned for choir at NHS while she was in the eighth grade, where she was accepted into Sedalia and then Evenstar. She has also been playing the trumpet for roughly eight years now, beginning in fourth grade.

It is hard for Enssle to name only a few musicians who have influenced her career. "I grew up listening to The Beatles, Bob Marley, and a lot of folk music," she said. "But now I listen to a lot of pop--Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift--a bunch of stuff from musicals, rock, and some jazz."

She has balanced her love of popular music with an interest in classical and theater music. In general, Enssle admits, she is in awe of movie and musical compositions, and some of her favorite composers include Leonard Bernstein, John Williams, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Stephen Schwartz, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Stephen Sondheim. "I would describe it (music) as a kind of passion and joy that I do not think I could live happily without," she said.

Her experience in the music departments throughout her time at NHS has been nothing short of wonderful. Participating in marching band for three years and choir for four years has given her exciting opportunities, and has challenged her in many different ways. "I have made so many memories, lasting connections, and grown both as a musician and as a person. My experience with music at Niwot has most definitely been one of the major highlights of my entire high school experience."

"She is one of our leaders for our annual Cupidgrams [which are] singing Valentines," Walters said. "She works above and beyond with everything performance."

Enssle has been participating in Cupidgrams for three years, but this is her first time co-leading a group. "It can get a little chaotic and stressful at times," Enssle said, "especially when you only have so long to learn the music and make up some choreography to go with it. But on the whole, I have been having so much fun with my group and with the process overall."

In addition to singing on the stage at Carnegie Hall, one of the most memorable moments for her during performances at NHS is when each year during the final concert, the choir sings "Hashivenu."

"It's a beautiful song that all of the choirs sing in a round with all the auditorium lights turned off," Enssle said. "It's so cool to sing every year because we all receive little lights that we can turn on during our part in the round and turn off after we finish singing. When everybody's light is on, it's absolutely mesmerizing to see."

Enssle has loved her time at NHS. "The administration, counselors, and teachers work so hard to try to make sure each student feels heard and valued," she said. "Even during my freshman year, when we were online or doing hybrid, I was able to join clubs, take on some leadership roles, and find community."

In addition to music, in her free time Enssle loves to write, especially poetry, read mystery, sci-fi, and fantasy books, watch movies, and hang out with friends. Although her future plans are not completely set in stone, she plans on attending an out-of-state, small liberal arts college, where she would like to major in international relations/political science, with potentially a minor in linguistics, and maybe in music as well.