Faculty Friday with Karla Rojas

Time for another Faculty Friday! For first time readers, our Faculty Friday blog is a series of questions and responses meant to feature instructors from Luzerne Music Center in a unique light. Focusing not only on their professional career, we ask faculty questions that give students and readers a glimpse into their daily lives.

Karla Rojas stands in this week's spotlight: Originally from Costa Rica, Karla has performed with a variety of orchestras, including the Louisiana Philharmonic, Louisiana Opera Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic and many others. Karla has also had multiple solo performance opportunities including the Sewanee Music Festival Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, and the Cartago and Heredia National Bands of Costa Rica. Karla enjoys performing a wide variety of music and styles and working with young students to help them develop their abilities and talents.

Tell us a little bit about your history with LMC: How did you get connected and how many summers have you been on faculty?

I first heard about LMC from my colleagues in Florida. They mentioned to me about how amazing the festival is, the great faculty members, staff and the very talented students. The previous Summer was my first at LMC and it was truly an amazing experience.

You helped create a fantastic low brass concert last summer during our junior session! Might we see another in 2019?

This was a very fun concert that brought together the brass faculty and students for a very exciting evening. We will definitely work toward to presenting a special concert this next Summer at Luzerne.

Rumor has it you’re a CrossFit coach! What aspects of being involved in the CrossFit community transfer into your musical life?

I am also a cross-country and track and field coach. There are many aspects that are similar between running races and being a musician. To be able to succeed, you need to have perseverance, discipline and most importantly you need to trust yourself. Musicians as much as athletes need to always strive for their best in every practice, performance or competition.

What’s one piece of advice that you wish someone had told you as a young musician?

Practice is not about how much time you dedicate to your instrument, but the quality of the time you spend.

You’re a mom to three awesome kids! What’s your favorite thing to do as a family?

I very much enjoy getting together with my children without any cell phones or tablets. I love to talk about the day and their experiences or anything that seems important for them.

Finally, if you could be a superhero, who would it be and why?

My superhero is actually my mother. In spite of very hard experiences that life put in her path, she always raises herself up and sees the positive side of what each day can bring. Even though there are difficulties in life, she lives each day with a positive attitude. She is the person who inspires me to keep going no matter how hard it seems. I learned from her that life is a gift and we have to give our best every day. Be happy, enjoy what we have, love the ones who surround us and always reach for our dreams because everything is possible.