At Princeton High School, there are plenty of talented students in the field of art, including Heidi Gubser ’23, a flutist in the PHS Orchestra and the first chair in the All-State Band. Gubser is committed to Princeton University. Though she won’t be studying music as her major, she plans on continuing it in her free time as much as possible. Gubser began playing the flute in the summer before sixth grade. Since then, she started playing in an orchestra in middle school and joined PHS Orchestra her sophomore year. In only a few years’ time, she has definitely made her mark in the PHS musical department through her brilliant flute playing.

What got you into playing the flute?

My mom was the one who got me into playing the flute. She mentioned it once, because she played in high school, so at the moment I didn’t think much of it. However, the summer before sixth grade, she signed me up for lessons. I was quite surprised, but I did really like my teacher. He gave me a lot of scales and such to play and that was kind of what we started with; we first focused on improving my technique and then we moved on to small pieces, and we went from there. This helped me grow to be the player I am now.

What do you think was the hardest part about playing your winter concert solo, “Chaminade Concertino”?

One of the hard things about it is to play it in a way that sounds fresh, since so many others have played it. Back in freshman year, my understanding of music was so much less complex, I kind of just played music how I thought my teacher wanted me to play it, or tried mimicking recordings. So, this was definitely something new. This piece definitely made me rethink everything about the way I was playing it. I wanted to obtain the feeling of making music and overall improving the quality of my music.

How was it playing with the orchestra accompaniment?

I started playing in an orchestra in middle school, so I was used to playing in the orchestra, but not as a solo part. So it is completely different playing a solo piece, with the orchestra accompanying you rather than playing along with the orchestra. Currently, I’m part of the PHS Orchestra, and I have been since sophomore year.

How important is practicing when it comes to becoming a musician?

Practice is a big part of becoming a musician, and people do recommend practicing every day. The most important part of being a musician is putting in your own time and effort into a craft that you yourself are creating and are passionate about. Sometimes your schedule gets in the way, but it’s important to put that time aside for yourself.

Who would you say are your inspirations?

Definitely my mom is one of them, as she did get me into it. Another I would say is violinist Hilary Hahn. Though there are many musicians in the world, they rarely talk about practice aside from shows, which is something I like about Hilary Hahn, because she shows how to practice. I took inspiration from her 100 days of practice on Instagram, where the challenge was to practice everyday for 100 days, and post a caption with it. I actually recently finished my own 100 days, and this challenge really helped me think about how I was practicing and being more mindful of what I practiced. And she is definitely someone who influenced and taught me so much about being mindful and practicing music.

What is advice you would give to someone who wants to become a better musician?

I’d say that the most important part of being a musician is putting a lot of careful thought into practice sessions, since that’s the only way we can really improve our musicianship.