Future Teacher Sanai Castle Finds Discipline and Satisfaction in the Violin

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2. Future Teacher Sanai Castle Finds Discipline and Satisfaction in the Violin

When rising senior education major Sanai Castle walks into her first elementary school classroom, she will be bringing with her more than knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic.

She'll bring the knowledge, discipline, dedication, and appreciation of music that come from being an accomplished violinist.

"I started playing violin in about third grade," says Castle, of East Stroudsburg. "Honestly, my parents pressured me into it. They told me I had to do something, so I decided to pick an instrument. I originally wanted to play the cello, but my dad said he wasn't going to put that in his car over and over again, so I took the violin as my second option."

For Castle, CU-Bloomsburg's orchestra and the Jones Honors College were major selling points for the campus.

"I saw Bloomsburg had an orchestra and a strong Honors College," says Castle, who is a mentor in the Honors College. "I looked into the clubs and organizations. One of the organizations messaged me on Instagram before I even arrived on campus. That made me feel like I already had a place here. Between that and a really good scholarship, I knew I could make it work."

While at Bloomsburg, Castle has been a violinist in the University-Community Orchestra and played in the pit orchestras of area high school theatre productions. She also had a chance to perform with an Arts in Bloom headliner. "Last year, I performed with the Ensemble Mik Nawooj Hip Hop Orchestra Experience. The music was extremely difficult, and I was struggling and stressed out during rehearsals. I managed to get it together for the performance, and my roommates surprised me with a big bouquet of flowers. It felt like they truly saw all my hard work and understood how much I had been stressing. It was a magical moment."

After graduation, Castle expects her musical experience to have an impact on her classroom. "Playing the violin has grown my appreciation for music. When I have my own classroom, I want music to play a big role. I've found that instrumental music-like the Bridgerton soundtracks-helps me focus because there are no words, just beautiful sound. I'll definitely do that for my students during work time. I want to teach anywhere between second and fourth grade. It's a full-circle moment since that's the age I was when I first started my own music lessons."

Being a musician also gives her insight into how to learn, persevere, and grow.

"I almost gave up the violin in fifth grade to switch to the clarinet, but I had a realization after a conversation with my mom. She told me, 'You're really good at the violin now; I think you should stick with it.' I tried it for another year and realized I really liked it. I kept taking private lessons over the summer with an instructor my mom knew, which is why I stayed with it when so many other kids stopped."

"I've learned that you have to make mistakes to learn. I'm a perfectionist, and you can see that in my violin playing, but I've learned we aren't going to get better until we make those mistakes out loud. My conductor, Dr. David Tedford, always says he would rather the notes be loud so he can hear the mistakes and help us move forward, rather than us playing quietly and keeping the mistakes to ourselves."

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• Music

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• Education