Freshman Owen Rist has taken his passion in a unique direction. Despite being new to high school, Rist has already found his “thing,” growing his talents out of school with his band and in school, participating in show choir.
Outside of school, Rist currently is part of a band he started this past June, but his musical journey began much earlier. Two years ago at The School of Rock in Omaha, he was one of the youngest members at the time. He was in middle school while most there were in high school, yet he made a noticeable impact.
“It was very different and very inclusive,” Rist said, “but eventually I got better than some of the older kids, so I ended up leaving and starting my own band.”
His talents surpassed the program, so he had to be mature and know himself,. Hhe looked for other ways to improve, which led him to get into his own group. He gathered with some of his friends, and they got together to share their talents.
Like many young artists, Rist faced challenges along the way, especially when it came to confidence.
“I used to not want to sing in front of people,” Rist said. “But now I would say I’m more confident in my singing.”
While Rist takes pride in his vocals, his main passion is the guitar, which he describes as his “thing.” Over time, he’s grown more comfortable balancing vocals, guitar and even the harmonica, sometimes even the piano.
“It can be a lot,” Rist said, “but the more I practiced, the better I got at multitasking.”
Now performing with his new band (which does not have a name yet), which includes freshmen Zach Long and Diego Hernandez Perez, Rist is excited to play music they all enjoy. When asked about his favorite song to perform, he said, “Glycerine” by Bush. As for the most challenging? The guitar solo in Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.”
Rist may be just a freshman, but his talents have begun to get him intrigued in other things at GHS, such as being involved in choir and junior varsity show choir.
“I think he’s someone who did choir in middle school, but has never done show choir before, and he’s picked up and is right with the level of all of his peers,” choir teacher and show choir director Dakota Mathew said. “He’s a great leader, by example. He’s respectful, and responsible and on time, and knows his, knows his material, and so, yeah, I mean, I couldn’t ask for anything better from a freshman boy.”
Mathew said he believes that it’s especially important for boys to be involved in choir, which is why he encouraged Rist to join the program.
“I found him on the first day of school, and I was like, ‘You’re Owen, I’ve heard about you from Mr. Avery. I think you would be really awesome at this,’” Matthew said. “For the activities that we do, we sing four- part music, which is soprano, alto, tenor and bass, and the tenor and bass parts are generally filled out by men in choir. And so we need a lot of them for a good foundation of sound, and the structure of the choir that we build, and it is not just a female activity.”
Rist’s entire goal is to make a living out by being a musician and making it out in the world as an artist. He dreams of eventually getting “big” and enjoying his music for a lifetime. He said that he lives by the advice that he wants to convey to others.
“Mainly just practice and don’t give up and stay dedicated to it all, because if you don’t do it yourself and don’t put in time, you’re not going to succeed,” Rist said.
