Arts Student of the Week: Evan Green

"The ability to play a musical instrument gives people a way to express their feelings at a depth that goes beyond any words," said Arts Student of the Week Evan Green. "Music can fill you with excitement, sadness, anticipation, calmness, or any other emotion, which makes it exhilarating to play and listen to. Additionally, playing an instrument lets you sculpt the music into expressing what you want to express."

As a student at Niwot High School, Green says his experience with music has been both delightful and educational. He acknowledges that NHS' Orchestra Director Keynes Chen, who selected him as Arts Student of the Week, has taught him a significant amount about playing music individually as well as playing successfully with a group.

"I've had a great time at concerts," Green said, "and we have played several awesome popular movie themes. Sometimes, it can be stressful to have the responsibility of accurately playing the music, but it makes the Niwot orchestras sound super good, and it makes the experience more fulfilling."

"Evan is a dedicated and exceptional student," Chen said, "who has successfully led the violins in the symphonia and conservatory class, and even a member of the district honors orchestra. This year, he has truly challenged himself by joining the symphony orchestra class, as well as the Pro Arte small ensembles class."

According to Chen, Green's contributions to the music program have been substantial, especially through his leadership and involvement in the student-lead Orchestra Advisory Student Initiative Society (OASIS), an orchestra club that undertakes certain tasks to help raise money for the orchestra program, attract people to concerts, and make the orchestra concerts and annual NHS Music Award Night as amazing an experience as possible.

Green has contributed to the orchestra programs by attending OASIS meetings and by helping with planning orchestra fundraising, decorating for concerts, and creating advertisement flyers. "However, I certainly have not contributed to the extent that several other OASIS members have," he admitted.

Green began playing the violin when he was three years old at his preschool, and he has been taking private lessons ever since. "I was encouraged by my mom," Green said, "to learn an instrument for fun, so that I have the ability to play it whenever I wanted to at any point in the future. I enjoyed playing the violin and developing my skills, so I stuck with it."

He said he does not have a favorite composer "because there are so many good ones. But I enjoy many pieces by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Bach, and Bruch. Not only do these composers have great symphonies and chamber music they have also composed extraordinary violin concertos that have become incredibly popular around the world."

In addition to performing at NHS, Green plays with the Longmont Youth Symphony Orchestra, and performs occasional recitals and concerts with his violin teacher's other students, especially around the holidays. During his sophomore year, Green participated in the District Honors Orchestra, and he hopes to play in the Honors Orchestra, as well as the Colorado All State Orchestra, this year.

Green's experience at NHS has been "incredible." "The students and staff are as supportive as possible, and teachers are always willing to answer my questions. I have found that no teacher makes it impossible for you to succeed in their class, as long as you put in the work to learn the curriculum."

Over the past couple of years, Green has made many friends at NHS who have helped him come out of what he calls "the shell of social awkwardness" in which he felt trapped during the first few years of the COVID pandemic. "These friendships have made high school a fun and exciting experience. Furthermore, I believe that the AP and IB classes at NHS have helped prepare me for college and my future career, and the plethora of clubs, fun events, and elective classes there are exciting."

In addition to Green's school and violin commitments, he enjoys reading, watching shows with his family, and playing video games. He also spends several hours a week doing martial arts, specifically American Taekwondo and Jiu Jitsu, which has not only helped him learn how to defend himself, but have also taught him how to continue improving as a person.

Additionally, Green recently worked as a member of the iSAT internship at the St. Vrain Valley School District's Innovation Center, which furthered his knowledge of how AI can be used in classroom environments to encourage teamwork and effective communication between students. Green also focused on how AI can be tested and improved so that students can't take advantage of its flaws.

Green has also been exploring physics and our current understanding of how the universe works over the past year. Physics is something that Green finds very intriguing, and he has been learning a lot about it in his IB Physics class.

Although Green does not yet have any concrete plans for his future career, he is confident that he will be working towards a college degree after high school. "Even though my plans might change," he said, "I currently have a desire to pursue both a degree in robotics and physics."