Everyone remembers playing an instrument for the first time.
Some were forced as part of music class while others turned it into a career or maybe a life-long hobby.
For Claudia Borey and Jackson Rouke, they got to pick out their new guitars surrounded by family.
The two Charles County students each received a free guitar in partnership with the Phoenix International School of the Arts, Island Music Company in La Plata and Free Guitars 4 Kids, a nonprofit organization that gives children free guitars to help them grow as musicians and creators.
Claudia, an eighth grader at PISOTA, and Rouke, a fifth grader at Dr. James Craik Elementary School, both picked a Squier electric guitar at Island Music Company on Tuesday.
Claudia’s guitar is a vibrant blue that matches her hair.
“I’ve always wanted to play an instrument,” she said. “But I haven’t found one that I’m passionate about.”
Claudia wants to learn how to play “a little bit of everything” with her new guitar, she said.
“Her musical taste is all over,” Denise Borey, Claudia’s mother, said.
Claudia is on the visual art track at PISOTA and is working on pixelated art, she said. On her own, she likes to draw with a lot of color.
The eighth grader also wants to learn the violin but, for now, she’ll stick to mastering the guitar.
“I love it,” Claudia said. “And it matches me.”
Jackson picked a more subtle electric guitar with a traditional sunburst color.
He is looking forward to playing new songs with the guitar and likes to listen to all types of music, including pop, he said. He also plays the clarinet and became interested when his mother played.
Jackson can play Beethoven songs and “Jingle Bells” on the clarinet, he said. He also taught himself how to play the intro to “Smoke on the Water” and “Deck the Halls.”
“It’s exciting,” he said. “I [get to] learn to play more than one instrument.”
Free Guitars 4 Kids reached out to the public charter school in Charles but the school decided to open up the opportunity to all kids in the community, Angelica Jackson, CEO of PISOTA, said. The nomination was for kids who would not be able to pay for a guitar on their own and who have a passion for music.
“Arts can be used to help these students express themselves in ways they may not have been able to before,” Jackson said. “Arts build the confidence.”
Keith Grasso, the owner of Island Music Company, will offer a free month of music lessons for Claudia and Jackson.
Along with the new guitars, Claudia and Jackson get an amp, carry bag and cable, Jack McNutt, store manager of Island Music Company, said.
“It’s just a real budget-friendly way to start creating, start tracing your aspirations and dreams of being a musician,” he said.
