(SCAPPOOSE) — Ev La Voie understands that when everyone works together, we can make something beautiful.

The 18-year-old senior at Scappoose High School spends much of their time in rehearsal for the school band, primarily as a percussionist and French horn player, the latter of which they recently picked up on a whim. After realizing the swim team wasn’t for them, La Voie also took up theater during their freshman year.

Growing both as a musician and an actor over the years, La Voie has seen how self-improvement pays off for the individual and the entire group.

“I think my all-time favorite part about music, especially a big ensemble like the one in our school, is the fact that all of these pieces — all the pieces of the band, each section — practice individually on their own, and they all have their own unique portion, and then it all comes together to create this surprising masterpiece,” La Voie said.

With three periods of band class and theater productions to balance alongside their studies, La Voie’s school days sometimes stretch 12 hours or more. At the end of each week, they make a point to sit down and assess everything that happened. But the long days spent perfecting performances and characters are worth it when the curtain rises.

“It’s just really rewarding, because you see that rough beginning, and then by the end of the year you have this full, completely different understanding of the piece,” they said. “It’s really beautiful.”

The lessons La Voie has learned onstage have helped shape how they view the world and their place in it.

“Band isn’t all about music — it’s about teamwork and leadership,” they said. “Of course, it’s good to separate yourself from the rest of the band and practice your part individually, but you really need that teamwork to get anywhere with the band.”

Knowing that, La Voie has stepped up as a leader in the program, helping guide other students toward their collective goal.

“It’s all about community,” they said. “It’s about connecting your special interests with other people, because that’s how you make friends is having mutual interests. But it’s more than just that — it’s meeting other people and growing from screwing up.”

In their time performing in the theater, La Voie has learned that not everyone can become another character. La Voie said there are many lessons to take from theater about empathy, which can be easy to miss.

“I just have a strange, innate ability to step into someone else’s shoes — not just in theater, being a different character — but looking into someone else’s character and seeing what they’re going through, so that I can be a better friend, better employee, better student,” they said.

With graduation approaching, La Voie has plans to start at Oregon State University in the fall to pursue a music career. As they move onto the next chapter, the legacy they hope to leave behind is twofold:

“My band legacy that I want to leave is one of growth,” they said. “It’s picking yourself back up again when you fail, and just pushing through and learning harder and harder things.”

For the theater, it’s kindness.

“It’s one of respect and responsibility as well, of keeping your head up and your chin high and your back straight, and knowing that at the end of the day, it’s going to be alright,” they said. “That’s my legacy: kindness, empathy and strength.”

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Community: Scappoose

Why they are an Amazing Kid: Ev La Voie has pulled inspiration from performing in band and theater, helping shape them into a better person.

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