(November 22, 2002) — Senior Armine Tatevosyan was a mere second grader when she enrolled in her first piano lessons at Lark Music School in Glendale. Friends of the family suggested she try it out for a while to see if there was any future in it. Ten years have gone by since. Yet Tatevosyan says she feels today the same exhilaration and excitement when her fingertips touch the keys, as she felt during her very first lesson. Despite the ten years of experience she has, performing in front of people is still a challenge sometimes. “I hate playing during family gatherings,” she says, “but sometimes my parents force me to!” As for playing in front of hundreds of strangers, she’s always nervous. “As long as you practice a lot and know your pieces by heart then there isn’t really much to worry about; but the chance of messing up is always there.” In order to avoid this, Tatevosyan practices for nearly two hours every day. One of the disadvantages of being so serious about the piano is the time that it takes away from the other important things like schoolwork and a social life. For the past ten years Tatevosyan has spent six hours every Saturday at Lark where she is part of the choir group. There she has learned how to sing, read music and analyze the works of great composers. In addition to choir practice she has piano lessons on Fridays and the two hours practice every day. After she is done with music she has hardly any time with her friends. Finishing her homework has become an exhausting, all-night experience. Despite all this, Tatevosyan says that she would not trade the many years she has spent at Lark for anything. “It’s such a good experience to be part of something like that. I have made a lot of good friends who have become like family to me. We do just about everything together,” she says. She does not, however, see herself playing the piano professionally in the future. Instead, she says, “I’m thinking more along the lines of a major in business.”