| Renaissance Woman Freshman German major, aspiring architect, and composer has eyes abroad
Considering all she has accomplished by this, her freshman year of college, one could forgive Webster student Brijhette Farmer if she carried herself with an air of cockiness. But instead, humility is the first thing one notices when talking to Farmer, a busy freshman German and pre-architecture major who composes music – among other things – in her spare time. Having been reared by her great aunt and having come of age in a Boys Hope Girls Hope home, Farmer overcame hardship and limited resources to find her way to Webster, largely due to her unlimited curiosity and determination. The curiosity led her to teach herself piano and take up German. The determination helped her win the 2007-08 Missouri MTNA Student Composition Competition for her original composition. “Everything about my life is kind of serendipity,” Farmer says. “I just see something I want to try, and I do it.” Indeed. She took up the clarinet because she loved music but couldn’t afford a piano. She began studying German because her favorite composers emerged from that culture, whose history then also intrigued her. She took on composing because the same fascination with structure that attracts her to architecture and eases her through calculus class also makes putting melody to the page a natural endeavor. Now, she’s eager to study abroad – and perhaps line up an internship through Webster’s International Business Internship Exchange – so she can apply her interests to new adventures. “Oh, I’m ready,” Farmer says of studying abroad. “Once I find out when I’m going for sure, my bags will be packed three months ahead of time!” ‘Homesickenss is a different concept for me’ Asked if she thinks she will be homesick abroad, Farmer says: not a chance. “I never lived with my parents, and I moved from home at age 12, so homesickness is kind of a different concept for me,” she says. “I only get ‘homesick’ when I’m somewhere I don’t want to be.” Webster’s offerings are providing her outlets for her enthusiasm. But such avenues did not always exist for Farmer. Growing up in north St. Louis, where poverty and struggling, low-resource schools are the norm, Farmer’s passion for learning stuck out at an early age. Her first-grade teacher, who became a lifelong friend, noticed her natural curiosity and quickly formed a bond. That teacher eventually recommended her for the Boys Hope Girls Hope program that helps promising in-need students get the best educational opportunities and a supportive environment. Already living with her great aunt, Farmer took the difficult step of moving from home into a Boys Hope Girls Hope house in suburban St. Louis so she could attend a better school and access new resources – such as a piano – to enable her pursuits. “Where I grew up, things were hard for everyone,” she says. “Not everyone was as focused on education as I was. Not everyone could be.” Once in the Boys Hope Girls Hope home, Farmer studied Spanish and more advanced courses in school – and started teaching herself on the house piano, two years before ever receiving formal lessons. “I already knew music,” she recalls, “So this was just like adding the left hand and figuring it out.” Her new school was also where she also was exposed to German history for the first time. “I had never studied it before, and I just found it very interesting,” she says. “Of course we have negative associations with some of it, but it fascinated me. I became a World War II buff, and even more interested in the music than before.” In high school, Farmer went on a school trip to Germany, and she was hooked. Soon the opportunity to study and return to Germany, while also preparing to study architecture, drew her to Webster. But once here, she wasn’t about to give up piano. She took a music class first semester, and even now – while carrying an 18-credit-hour load – she still makes time to practice a few times a week. It was during piano lessons that the ever-curious Farmer noticed a poster for a student composition contest. “I just saw a flyer on the wall – I’m always getting distracted by what I see around me,” she says, “So [music faculty member] Pat Eastman encouraged me, and I decided to compose something and send it in.” Farmer’s composition, called “Rainstorm of Warm Peace,” is a variation of Pachelbel’s “Canon.” “But mine is really fast,” she says. “The first part is a major key – happier like Pachelbel – but then it goes to a minor and gets more somber. It was fun to write and hear, but it also looks really cool on the page. It has a lot going on.” Jotting down compositions is just part of her nature, the artistic side of which also includes drawing and calligraphy. “I guess I’m old school,” Farmer says. “My friends are always saying that: ‘No one composes on paper, no one draws, no one does calligraphy anymore.’ Well, I do! I just like it.” She may be old school, but Farmer’s diverse interests follow a path that is decidedly her own. She continues to play and compose – and win accolades: Her latest project, an original composition, won the Webster Talent Show March 1 as part of Alternative Weekend Nights. Her piece fit the month’s theme of finding alternatives to unhealthy life choices. “It’s called ‘More,’” Farmer explains. “It’s about a girl who turns to alcohol to deal with her problems. I was nervous about singing, but it hits close to home. In my family history there are a lot of issues with alcohol and drugs, so I know what that’s like. I feel this is a chance to convey an important issue to college-age students, the group most affected by the devastation of drugs and alcohol.” |
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
|
|
Dean's Message A Distinguished Scholar Preparing to Make a Difference Answering the Call |