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Home > Archive > Mar 13, 2008

Playing It by Ear
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
Piano is a central part of life for Tuacahn High School student Chloe Borg, though the 16-year-old doesn't know yet whether she'll pursue a lifelong career in music.
“I'm just going to play it by ear,” she said.
Chloe, a junior at Tuacahn, excels at the piano and has been playing the instrument for eight years. Music and academics are both at the forefront of her life, and she devotes the majority of her attention to those two pursuits.
“My parents have always taught me that it is better to be a master of one than a jack of all trades,” Chloe said.
So she has chosen both school and the piano as her primary focuses, and her attentiveness and devotion have paid off in both areas.
A 4.0 student, Chloe is very devoted academically, and she is also a dedicated piano pupil – though practicing diligently and achieving excellence as a pianist haven't always come easily.
Chloe started out in piano willingly enough, but as the going got tougher, she wanted to get going – literally. But unwilling to let her daughter throw in the towel, Chloe's mom persuaded her to stick it out.
“For maybe two or three years, I hated piano. I just wanted to quit,” Chloe said. “I would cry and I would scream and I would threaten my mom, 'I'm going to quit! I'm never going to forgive you for ruining my life!'
“The whole time, she would say, 'You'll thank me later, you'll thank me later,'” Chloe went on to say. “I guess now I can say she was right and I was wrong. I used to think I would hate piano for the rest of my life, and I begged my mom to let me quit, but I'm really happy. See, hard work? You've got to push through it. You've just got to keep going, just keep swimming.”
And that's Chloe's maxim in piano and every other aspect of her life.
“You're not going to get anywhere sitting around doing nothing,” she said. “You have to actually go out and do something about it, and you have to try to succeed.”
Chloe is a notable example of that ethic to those around her, Christy Hall, a math and English teacher at Tuacahn said.
“Chloe is hardworking, incredibly creative and always positive. She's the kind of student that teachers wish all students would be,” she said. “She's an example of what it means to be a Tuacahn High School student.”
Chloe is very involved in extracurricular activities at Tuacahn, in addition to her attentiveness to academics. She serves as the junior class vice president, secretary of the National Honor Society, a council member for the Drama Club and a member of the Interact service club at Tuacahn. She also volunteers her time as a tutor each week, helping other students in various scholastic subjects after school.
“She's very dedicated in the area of service,” Hall said. “She's fantastic.”
As she tentatively looks to her future, Chloe wants to put her skills as a pianist to work and teach others to play. She'd also like to get her doctorate in music and eventually teach music theory at a college level. Performing as a concert pianist isn't foremost in her plans, she said, as she's heard that professional pianists often spend eight to 12 hours a day practicing. She is content to stick with her two daily practice hours.
“I also want to have a family when I grow up, so of course music is going to be a priority, but it's not going to be my main priority,” Chloe said. “And I don't think I could practice that long!”
Chloe's parents are Doug and Carolyn Borg, of St. George.

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