Fingertips brushing the surface of the tensioned strings, Rachel Broweleit (12) places her hand into position on her varnished cello. As she slides her bow gently across the strings, the notes of Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante resound through the orchestral practice room, a space usually bustling with eager students. 

Watching her play now, you might have guessed that she’s been a cellist for a large part of her life, and you would be right. In second grade, her lower school conductor, Louis Hoffman, recommended that she begin playing cello despite lacking experience. Going into her middle school years, cello became her main passion. 

After pursuing cello, dance and tennis, she realized that she didn’t have the time for all her activities, so she made the decision to focus on cello due to her innate interest.

“In the end, I had to balance … I think cello was the activity that spoke to me the most. I was having the most fun with it and it came the most naturally to me,” she said.

As she continued to participate in orchestra and chamber music, Rachel realized she could easily connect with others in the inclusive music community.

“When I went to music camps in the summer, it was definitely helpful for me to become more outgoing. I was [pushed] to make new friends there and the people there were nice and easy to get to know,” she said.

Her close friend Amanda Cheung (12) describes Rachel’s stable personality and her development in becoming more social outside of her friend circle. Her growth allowed her to reach out and make more friends not only in the music community but also outside.

“I also think she’s very level-headed and calm, so if I need to talk to her about something, she’s always steady and reliable. Through high school, she’s become more extroverted than she was before and is willing to talk more and make more friends,” Amanda said.

Being the principal cellist in the Harker orchestra, Rachel struggled to adapt to her leadership position as a junior, having to lead those older than her. Ultimately, her role allowed her to grow as a leader.

“I feel like I’ve gained more confidence from leading my section because I couldn’t be a pushover. I was younger than some people in my section, so I don’t think people really wanted to listen to me in my first year. I just had to prove myself and prove that I was dedicated to my section and was willing to help everyone,” Rachel said.

Outside of school, she also participates in the Palo Alto Chain Orchestra where she does many orchestral and chamber performances. Rachel describes the contrast to the school orchestra, which allows her to learn in vastly different ways.

“Everyone swaps positions because my orchestra thinks it creates a better environment, and I kind of agree. We’re all around the same level and everyone is just trying to help each other. I prefer this kind of environment, but I am really glad that I have my leadership position at Harker especially since it’s two completely different environments,” she said.

While she plays at a highly advanced cello level, Rachel describes the importance of improvement at each level of skill. 

“There are always things you need to improve on. As I improve, the pieces do get harder and I’m constantly finding different things I need to work on,” she said. “Definitely, from day to day I don’t really hear any improvement, but if I listen to myself from a year ago compared to now, I can still hear the improvement. At a certain point, you focus less on technique and more on creating your own sound.”

Rachel also emphasized how working with underclassmen in the school orchestra with their struggles has aided her in finding technical issues she herself can improve on.

“I like the whole process of figuring out the best way to teach [beginner cellists] and it helps me understand technique better. We work together,” Rachel said. “Some of the things I teach them, I can apply to myself and in that aspect, teaching helps me come up with my own issues.”

Reflecting on music as a whole, Rachel describes how every person who plays a piece has a unique take on the sound of the music and how powerful that uniqueness can be. 

“Just listening to people’s musical interpretations helps you to understand music better. Everyone is influencing each other and everyone has a different way of interpreting a piece … you can really find out what you want your own style to sound like.”

Katy Rees, her AP US History teacher, articulates the way Rachel has developed her own ideas and grown to share her opinions with her classmates. This has allowed her to express herself in both music and academics, regardless of the topic

“Her creativity and ability to express her ideas have really developed. I think the most fun is seeing how she could take her ideas and really articulate them and share them in class both in oral presentations in class and in written forms as well,” Rees said.

Rachel’s ability to constantly improve her skills through listening to others highlights not only her drive for cello but also her appreciation of music. Her experience both on and off stage has allowed her to reflect on the aspects of cello she really truly finds important, rather than just focusing on the minor details.

“Once I get on stage, I forget all the people are there and it’s just me and my cello. I forget about everything else. I realized that mistakes happen to almost everyone, and that it’s not the most important thing,” Rachel said.