Fine arts department teacher Leslie Sokal-Berg, who teaches guitar, flips through sheet music during the Winter Guitar Performance in the E.B. Mell Auditorium on Dec. 5, 2023. Sokal-Berg wanted her class to be an open and free space for students to experiment with their craft. “I think that the more you can get up and play in front of people, the better because it feels uncomfortable. I’ve been performing for 25 years, and there are still times when it feels scary,” Sokal-Berg said. “But if you get into the groove of getting over that faster and faster it goes better.” Photo by Aza Khan
Since the 2019-20 school year, the guitar course offerings have provided students with opportunities to perform in front of large crowds and collaborate with other musicians.
The guitar elective was started in the 2019-20 school year, according to fine arts department teacher Leslie Sokal-Berg, who teaches the guitar classes. The fine arts elective offers classes at the beginning, intermediate, advanced and mastery levels.
According to Sokal-Berg, she not only shows her students the proper chords and hand placement but also how to have an open mind.
“I am really big on student choice, and I think that guitar is an instrument that the only way you’re going to get better is if you play by yourself,” Sokal-Berg said. “My goal for my program is to create lifelong lovers of music.”
For mastery-level guitar student Macon Davis, a junior, the guitar elective offers students opportunities to grow.
“What I’ve learned the most is just to be more confident in my playing. When I started off, I was very shy when playing and I didn’t want to play in front of anyone,” Davis said. “Now I can just play in front of everyone.”
“What I’ve learned the most is just to be more confident in my playing. When I started off, I was very shy when playing and I didn’t want to play in front of anyone. Now I can just play in front of everyone.”
— Macon Davis,
mastery-level guitar student
An additional opportunity provided to Sokal-Berg’s students is an end-of-semester concert, which mastery-level guitar student Aiden Woodward says is an important skill.
“No matter how much you learn in a classroom, unless you are sitting in front of somebody performing, it’s just hard to learn how to,” Woodward said. “So getting those opportunities of playing with a group and playing in front of small crowds and then later in the year, the concerts, it’s a great way to learn to perform.”
