Sophomore Salome Ospina holds an impressive musical resume with nearly 10 years of piano experience under her belt. Ospina is a part of the National Youth Symphony of Columbia, the Sacramento Youth Symphony, the jazz band The New Traditionalists, as well as the Rio jazz band and concert band. Her participation in the Rio band program has been an amazing experience.

Salome Ospina is a member of the National Youth Symphony of Columbia, which runs in the family. “My mom was a student there around 30 years ago,” she said. “She’s really good friends with the director, so I got the opportunity because we got in touch.”

For the most recent performance, she played Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, which took about two years to learn. She is also practicing with the celeste, a special type of piano.

Additionally, she says playing jazz and classical piano have their differences. “It’s entirely different, like two completely different worlds,” Ospina said, “but you can use one to help with the other, if that makes sense.”

Nerves often affect her, but she still pulls off a stellar performance. “I don’t even know how to describe how nervous I was,” she said. Performing the piano for 28 minutes by memory and staying motivated was very difficult.

Ospina also has aspirations to continue with music. “I do hopefully see myself with a future in music,” she told The Mirada. “I’d love to become a music teacher or just be able to play the piano and make a living off of it.”