The students of Palos Verdes High School are some of the most extremely talented and high achieving out there; however, it is the hidden skills of these students that are the most impressive. Those who walk the halls can sing like Beyonce, play soccer like David Beckham, and have the composition skills of Mozart, but many of them are too humble to admit it. These halls do not serve as the best environment to show these skills, but it doesn’t take too close of a look to find out what fields these Sea Kings reign over.
There are few things that bring people together quite like music. For one Sea King, music is a hidden passion that will hopefully bring people together in the future. Senior, Marlena Wille has been singing and playing instruments since before she can remember. Wille started seriously pursuing her music career in her freshman year of high school and has been continuing with it ever since. She has performed in many recitals where her singing is accompanied by her own guitar and piano playing. As if Wille’s skills were not impressive enough, last June she performed a combination of covers and original work at the Los Angeles House of Blues. Wille’s skills are strengthened by her sincere passion for music. She says, “Putting music and words together to make something that communicates so much with so little is kind of incredible to me. Music is just something I love to do.” Genuine love and excellent talent are a killer combination for a successful career in anything; and hopefully one day soon her music will be available on music franchises such as iTunes, Spotify, or Pandora.
Wille is not the only powerful musician at PV High. Sophomore Albert Peacock also has music notes running through his veins. Albert is the base player in the band, Max Gardener. Although his career started roughly a year ago when he bought “a cheap- used base and learned how to make it sound passable as music,” these days, it is appreciated as good music. He recently performed with his band at a gig in Orange County, and the group has more coming up there as well as a possible Downtown L.A. performance. Peacock says, “I haven’t heard many people complaining about the show, so that’s a definite win for us.” As comical as this may sound, negative feedback is extremely common from listeners, so lack thereof is very promising for Max Gardener. In just one year, Albert’s base career has really been taking off, and his progress with Max Gardener is truly impressive.
Everyone can scribble in the pages of their notebook, or draw the limbs of a stick figure in Hangman, but few are talented enough to be considered artists. Sophomore, Greg Brandt, is one of these few people. From the beginning of his pencil holding to his placement in the top five of an art contest in just third grade, Greg has been feeding his passion for art. He is currently enrolled in art classes at school, and has really been thriving in them. Greg also draws outside of art class, whether it is drawing, painting, or other forms of art. As far as the future is concerned, Greg does not “have much interest for it later in life” except to keep making art. Greg Brandt’s talent for art is one that many have fawned over and will in the future.
Song, art, and instrumentals are just a few of the many talents hiding in the everyday bodies of PV High students. The music of Wille and Peacock, and the art of Brandt are surely to improve the lives of many in the future. These hidden talents won’t stay hidden for too long, so getting autographs now seems like a smart idea. High school is filled with many talented students roaming the hallways, waiting to be discovered.