by Anna Leach

Sophomore Brianna Valine points to of the variety of  instruments sitting on the floor from her perch on her bed.

“So all of these guitars are actually quite different,” Valine said, laughing when I asked her to explain them all.  “I have an electric [guitar], his name is Rodrick. I also have a daisy rock guitar. [It] just has a completely different sound.”

According to Valine, each of the instruments has its own back story. The ukulele, for example, named Lucy, was actually bought in Spain over the summer then brought back home.

“I was so sad without my guitar. I insisted I needed an instrument, so this is what I got,” Valine joked.

Next to her first acoustic, Lindsey, there lies a few other pieces. The Appalachian dulcimer, which remains nameless, lies face up in the corner; it had  belonged to Valine’s grandmother.  And her  keyboard was inherited from her great-grandmother,  so she could play piano, according to Valine, “at all hours.”

In addition to being a member of STA Singers, a capella choir and Praise Band, Valine has participated in a Lyric Opera’s  program for high school kids, “jammed” with a Kansas City Young Audience’s garage  band and has started her own group, This is Baltimore, with fellow sophomore Madison Fitzgerald and junior Ruby Dibble. She is also writing her own music on the side and planning to record an album in the near future.

Click here to listen and learn more about how music has been a part of Valine’s life:

valine audio