Student of the Month

November 2020

Reese Anderson

Reese Anderson is a banjo student who takes lessons with Jack Tell. She is twelve years old and has been playing banjo for the last 5 years. During these years, Reese participated in 5 different music competitions. Her inspiration for playing comes from her great-grandmother who used to play banjo and gifted her instrument to Reese. Reese would like to meet two icons of banjo performance - Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn.

When she is not practicing banjo, Reese enjoys watching formula one and football on the weekends. She also enjoys playing sports outside and fiddling. Her biggest musical accomplishment was placing at the Midwest Fiddle and Banjo Championship. She won second place as a band playing banjo with her sisters who play fiddle. Music makes Reese feel happy and calm. She likes the feeling of achievement after practicing banjo even though this instrument is not an easy one. Reese's favorite tune is Blackberry Blossom played using "two finger style". One of the memorable moments of Reese's life was meeting the Dela Mae band and playing banjo for them. Her goal in music is to continue learning new techniques and skills on the banjo.