Susanna Bobbs '21 Travels to Tuscany, Italy to Perform in International Music Festival

Susanna Bobbs '21 is no stranger to accomplishment. She began studying the piano and violin at the age of four under the guidance of her mother, Catherine Bobbs, a professional pianist, and her sister, Katrina, a member of the Houston Symphony. At age seven, Susanna was a featured soloist with the Cleveland Institute of Music Chamber Orchestra and has performed frequently as a soloist or member of various professional chamber ensembles throughout her life. Her most notable accomplishment to date was winning the Young Performance Award of Texas where she was required to win multiple levels of competition in order to advance. She also won the Houston Music Doing Good Scholarship for her work doing volunteer performances for cancer clinics and retirement homes. She says, "My siblings and I were taught from a very young age that we were blessed with a gift to be shared, and I feel this gift is one that brings many people of different generations together."

In July 2019, Susanna had the opportunity to travel to Tuscany, Italy to participate in the Festival Orchestre Giovanili as a member of the Chamber Music Center of New York. CMC students and staff collaborated with the Apulian Youth Symphony Orchestra, from Puglia, Italy, performing Holst’s Mars, the Bringer of War, Marquez’s Danzon No. 2, and Borodin’s Polovetsian Dances, in Montecatini Terme and Florence. Chamber music concerts performed by CMC students and staff followed in the Tuscany cities of Perugia and San Gimignano.

"I think what I like about music the most is that is allows one to communicate feelings without saying them. I am a quiet person, but music can communicate my emotions. I also love playing with others. Music has allowed me to meet and perform with people from all parts of the world. I have had so many amazing opportunities come to me through music and I have a special bond with my musical comrades," says Susanna, who is an Honors student and high level tennis player at SRDS.

"My favorite thing about SRDS would have to be the community. I feel that it is like my second home," she says. "I am able to have a connection with all my classmates and even my teachers, who always have my best interest in mind."

Susanna is not sure what her future holds, even though she knows music will always play an important role in her life. "I love music, but I also love numbers, biology, sociology and learning. My plans are to go to a great university where I can narrow the fields perhaps into one main goal. I would love to continue making music with others through orchestra or chamber ensembles wherever I go, but I am leaving myself open to explore many different interests for now."

Brava, Susanna; brava!