HP_070617

10 | July 6, 2017 | The highland park landmark news
hplandmark.com
MARCELINE
PAWS Chicago North Shore
Marceline is a petite oneyear-old
Shih Tzu with lots
of love to give! A gentle girl,
she enjoys cuddling, nap
time, and is fantastic on a leash!
Marceline, along with many dogs and cats, is
be available for adoption at the PAWS Chicago
North Shore Adoption Center. To learn more, visit
pawschicago.org.
To see your pet featured as Pet of the Week, send information
to Courtney Jacquin at courtney@hplandmark.com.
Dog Walking Services
HIGHLAND PARK’S
FULLY INSURED
Jackie Elenz
Pet Care Specialist
Since 2006
Dog Walking & Sitting | Cat Visits | House Sitting
847.770.7DOG | info@superdogdogwalking.com | superdogdogwalking.com
The North Shore’s
Rug Cleaning Experts
Any Size Area Rug
$1.50 per square foot
Cash & carry price. $1.75/SF for pick up & delivery. Minimums apply.
The North Shore’s wood flooring experts.
1107 Greenleaf Ave, Wilmette
847-865-8283 KashianBros.com
Local 12-year-old recognized in bass competition
Jake Markowitz
Editorial Intern
We always hear the
phrase, “hard work pays
off,” but for Highland
Park’s Jacob Fisher, he
now has the evidence to
back up the phrase.
At the 50th anniversary
of the International Society
of Bassists convention,
Fisher, 12, was awarded
honorable mention for the
14 and under division during
the Double Bass Competition.
The event, held at Ithaca
College this year, is
part of a weeklong convention
occurring every
two years, which serves as
a resource for bassists all
over the world. It includes
workshops, performances,
vendors and master classes.
To kick off the convention,
a series of competitions
take place. Participants
play one required
piece, as well as chosen
pieces to fill a 15-minute
time slot.
“There’s not a lot of
competitions for bassists,”
said Rachel Fisher, Jacob’s
mother. “The beauty
Principal
From Page 4
able to foster an environment
in which we have the
ability to build meaningful
and true relationships, and
also to continue the fine
educational system that we
have, to be able to be innovative
to continue to bring
cutting- edge opportunities
to our students.”
Though in her position,
Robertson won’t be able
to be in the classroom
with students — a part of
her most recent position at
DHS she greatly enjoyed
of [International Society
of Bassists] is they highlight
the bass in a way you
don’t normally get to see
and showcase it.”
While the musicians
might make playing an
instrument look effortless,
there is plenty of time and
effort that enables them to
acquire their talent, said
Fisher.
Born into a family filled
with passion for music,
Jacob started playing bass
at an early age.
His mother, a professional
violinist, brought
Jacob to see a jazz trio
when he was 18 months
old. At the performance,
the bassist grabbed Jacob’s
attention. It was at
that moment he told his
mother he wanted to play
bass, but she knew he was
too young.
“I told him, ‘We’ll talk
about it when you’re three
years old,’ and I actually
thought he would forget
about it, but he didn’t,”
Fisher said. “By the time
he turned three and he was
still asking to play bass I
found him a teacher.”
Beginning him with
a teacher from the Suzuki
school of thought, a
method of teaching string
instruments that attempts
to parallel the linguistic
environment when learning
a native language, Jacob’s
bassist career was
born. However, the love
for playing bass did not
always translate to a motivation
to practice.
“Practicing is tedious,”
Fisher said. “Jacob is a
very normal kid and he
looks at it as a chore, just
like the rest of us always
did and still do. Sometimes
he needs some
pushing from me.”
Attempting to balance
school, swim practice for
the Highland Park Aquatics
Swim Team, and a social
life, Jacob manages
to find 30 minutes to an
hour on average per day to
practice bass. That commitment
led him to the
2017 International Society
of Bassists convention.
“We didn’t expect anything
other than a good
experience,” Fisher said “I
think both of us were just
hopeful he would meet
some good people, learn a
lot and have a good experience.”
— she hopes to continue
to make the personal connections
necessary to understand
the student body
of HPHS.
“(Meeting with students)
is so important to
me because that allows
me to be here and to see
and know what are the
stresses that the students
have, what are the social
issues that are coming up
for them,” Robertson said.
“Yes we’re teaching, but
we also have to know them
as people.”
When the school year
begins in August, the administration
team at HPHS
will look completely different
than it did at the
end of the 2016-17 school
year. Robertson knows
many families are feeling
a sense of “loss,” but she
hopes to make the transition
as smooth as possible.
Robertson spent time with
Koulentes during the transition,
and is grateful to
have Amy Burnetti, former
Chair of Applied &
Fine Arts who has been at
HPHS since 2009, as one
of her new assistant principals.
“I understand that it’s
Jacob received a little
more than that. He was one
of two musicians who received
honorable mention
for the 14 and under division
and the only American.
“We were both surprised
and happy,” Fisher said. “I
gave him a hug and I told
him how beautiful he had
played and how much I
had enjoyed listening to
him play in that type of
setting.
Jacob has expressed an
interest in Jazz and the
possibility of majoring in
both music and engineering
in college, but at such
a young age he’s focusing
more on common hobbies
for younger boys, such as
video games and sports.
For now, the 2017 International
Society of Bassists
competition will serve as
simply a happy memory
for Jacob and his family.
“The thing I was most
proud of was the work he
put into it because it takes
a lot to be able to be prepared
for something like
this,” Fisher said. “That
wasn’t something you
could took away no matter
if he won or not.”
difficult when people are
seeing a transition like this,
but I really feel very fortunate
to be able to be a part
of a team that represents
so many different areas of
talent and experiences,”
Robertson said. “I think
it’s amazing to be able to
return to a building that I
had been a part of before,
and it really does instantly
give me that ability to get
to know the values and to
know what’s important. ...
It’s an exciting time.”
Highland Park High
School’s first day of school
is Wednesday, Aug. 23.