Years ago, Claire received a Christmas gift from her mom that inspired a new hobby - music. Years later, she is still interested, and now a member of the Cedar Rapids/Marion adult band.

Christmas gifts are a fun part of the holidays for many people. Years ago, Claire Nilles says her mom gifted her a guitar, and that started her years-long interest in playing music.

"Growing up in the late 90s and 2000s I got really into the Nu-Metal and Emo scenes so I wanted to try and learn to play songs from those genres that I really liked," she said.

When she joined the adult band at the Cedar Rapids/Marion school in June of 2022, she discovered interest in a new instrument: drums!

"The band director (Chloe Weidl) always looked to be having so much fun playing them and made it look like a fun instrument to learn," Claire said.

Claire says being in the band motivates her to practice more regularly and playing in a group setting enhances her learning experience.

"Helps to bring to light the social aspects involved in music and learning to work with people along with learning music," she said.

As Claire explores and learns more about drums and guitar while bonding with her bandmates, she also hopes to get involved with music theory so she can start another chapter in her musical journey: composing.

More about Claire:

Favorite song to perform: Bring Me to Life by Evanescence on guitar and Sabotage by the Beastie Boys on drums

Fun fact: Along with rock music, Claire enjoys rock climbing, she can do 10 pull-ups in a row, and she has a 3-year-old cat named Cortez