Katherine Grace Hale, 17, who goes by Grace, is a senior at Lake Forest Academy. She has composed several works for the school orchestra, including a musical score for the movie “Night of the Living Dead,” which was performed by the orchestra last spring.
Q: What instruments do you play?
A: I started playing piano when I was five years old. I’m a triplet. I also have two older twin sisters. All of us are doing something remotely artistic. I picked up trumpet in fifth or sixth grade. That was kind of a side thing I did for school band and orchestra.
Q: When did you start composing?
A: I started writing music when I was 10, just sort of improvising on the piano. I was in eighth grade when I did a short improvisation for the talent show.
Q: Of all the movies to create a music score for, why choose “Night of the Living Dead”?
A: I was choosing between tons of different films. It was in the public domain.
Q: Was it difficult to write?
A: It was kind of a hard thing. I’m not a fan of horror movies and I always write at night.
Q: Why at night?
A: It’s when my creativity comes out.
Q: What are the challenges of composing?
A: One of the challenges is being satisfied. You have this image in your head of what you want to create and you never really get there. You have these musicians playing it and they are always transforming it.
Q: Any other challenges?
A: Writing out parts [for different instruments] is one of the most tedious tasks you take in composition.
Q: Do you have long-term goals in music?
A: I really want to write music for film. That would be my dream job.
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut.
—Mark Lawton, Pioneer Press
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