Grace Marshall is a junior music education major from Brownsburg, IN.

“I took piano lessons because my mom is a piano teacher, but at a young age I knew piano wasn’t for me. After an especially draining practice session, my mom asked if I would rather play another instrument and I immediately responded ‘violin.’ My grandpa was a fiddle player in a bluegrass band, and he had an instrument in my hand the very next day. I started playing in 5th grade, and I knew right away that I really loved music and didn’t want to do anything else with my life.

“My fondest memory at Ball State University is our concert at the Hilbert Circle Theatre last spring when we performed Beethoven 9. Performing in Hilbert was a throwback to my days in New World Youth Orchestras when I first played there, and it felt like I was coming back to where I fell in love with symphonic music.” 📸: Dominic Zelli