Riley Mohn is a junior at Hamburg Area High School who is very involved with music. She is a part of the school’s concert band, caroling band, jazz band, marching band, graduation band, percussion ensemble, and concert choir. Trebles is something she is involved in, which is a girls’ choir ensemble. She has been a part of a concert band since fourth grade. Riley started singing sophomore year and loves it.
In band, she plays mallet percussion. Sometimes she also plays auxiliary percussion, such as the cowbell, tambourine, and triangle. Riley emphasizes, “I wanted to play the saxophone or flute, but I could not make a noise out of either. I’m only just learning snare and bass drum now.” Riley explains that Mrs. Kline, the school’s band director, started a percussion ensemble that she has joined, in which she will play more drums.
In choir, she is an alto singer, which means she has a lower voice. Riley says, “I wanted to try singing early on, but I didn’t because I did not want to add one more thing to my schedule until after getting adjusted to high school.”
Riley also sang at the Java Jam the high school held in December. It is a free event in the library where kids can just sing and have a good time while eating delicious baked goods.
Listening to music is a big part of her life. She listens to a lot of different genres, such as rock and grunge. Riley says her parents are her biggest inspiration when it comes to her music career because they were both music kids growing up and they are really supportive. They are her transportation to every music event.
Riley is an extremely dedicated student who has a passion for music. Riley’s advice to anyone who is thinking about joining any music ensemble is to do it. She says do not be afraid to try something new, and there are classes students can take that they do not need to perform in front of an audience for. She also states, “Plus, colleges love seeing that someone joined so many music ensembles. It shows responsibility, coordination, teamwork, and willingness to learn.”
