Hi, my name is Kylie Schriver, I’m from Woodland Hills, California, and I am a Music Studies: Producer/Performer major with a minor in Spanish. Growing up, music has played a huge role in my life as my grandparents were both professional musicians and I took dance classes for a large portion of my childhood. My Grandpa and step grandma were both professional clarinetists and their playing is featured in many different movie scores. For example, My grandpa was the clarinetist who played “Rhapsody in Blue” in the Disney film Fantasia 2000. Also, on my Grandma’s side, one of my more distant relatives, I believe she would be considered my great great aunt, was a professional singer who is known for singing the song “Baby of Mine” from the animated film Dumbo. I’m really excited for the opportunity to learn more about music from different cultural perspectives while abroad. It’s one thing to simply talk about it in a classroom setting but to actually be there and get to experience it first hand will be an entirely new incredible experience. I’m really excited to see the Nutcracker because I am very familiar with the music from this show, as I performed in the Nutcracker many times with my dance studio growing up. It will be really cool to experience something that’s familiar to me while in a place I’ve never experienced before, and I wonder what new things might come from that experience. I’m really looking forward to experiencing a new country and broadening my understanding of the world and am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this experience.