Although the violin and viola may appear identical to the untrained eye, their varying clefs and strings amount to substantial differences.

Within her seventh grade year, Sydney Rubenstein transitioned out of an seven-year career as a violinist to begin learning to play the viola. She described it as, “one of the best decisions she’s ever made”, and her extensive musical resume agrees. 

“I always saw the violas in orchestra and thought it was so cool how there were so few of them,” said Rubenstein, “I thought, ‘what if I tried viola?’ My teacher at the time had just switched from violin to viola, so I saw it as the perfect timing. I am so glad I switched; it’s fun being in such a small group in orchestra and has brought me so many opportunities!”

Rubenstein is a four-year member and two-year section leader of LFHS’ Symphony Orchestra, a violist for the chamber orchestra, a member of the pit orchestra for this years’ spring musical, and a soon to be soloist in the Lake Forest Civic Orchestra.

Off the school clock, you can often find Rubenstein in a viola lesson over Zoom or practicing her favorite piece, Bruch Romanze.

The pandemic has not slowed Rubenstein down, either. She led the Symphony Orchestra’s viola sectionals during times of at-home learning, and now plays once a week in-class due to the hybrid transition. In addition, she completes extra assignments to gain honors credit. 

“Obviously orchestra is not the same,” said Rubenstein, “However, being in hybrid has been super nice because I can play when I’m in person! I’ve also been taking advantage of more extra curricular activities like chamber and pit, and have taken every chance I can get to play with people!”

Although not pursuing a degree in music, Rubenstein anticipates auditioning for Case Western Reserve University’s orchestra and plans on using her perfect pitch and trained ear as a future speech pathologist. 

Needless to say, Rubenstein is a viola powerhouse, one of LFHS’ greatest artistic assets, and is surely not stopping anytime soon.