Ten-year-old Olive Wallace of Pennsylvania recently tried her hand at composing music. Her mom, Michelle Wallace, shared her penciled piece with the TikTok community and asked if it could be played, "I need to know if it's any good or if it makes any sense." Welp, as it turns out, it can be played. And several musicians have stepped up to perform the work which has since been titled, "For Greatness We Bring."
Dr. Christopher T. F. Hanson, Seattle Pacific University's Director of Music Education and Orchestral Activities, is one of the people who saw Michelle's video and took the challenge. He first arranged the piece for a string orchestra and then had educators at the recent National Association for Music Education (NAfME) conference play it. I think you'll agree that this interpretation is quite moving!
How did Olive know how to compose to begin with? Michelle explains, "She has played the violin for 2 years at her elementary school in southern Pennsylvania. She also plays the clarinet and sings in her school's choir and honor choir. She loves music! Her grandma is a retired music teacher in California, and her aunt currently teaches music."
If you head to TikTok, you can listen to many other professional musicians play the work including Casey Bozell of Keep Classical Weird on violin.
