Lara Evans had to learned to prioritize.

“I’ve started to accept what matters, and that’s music,” says Evans, Lincoln’s January student of the month.

That’s how she juggles everything, from music, to school, to tutoring others. Now she knows exactly what matters most to her, which is, without a doubt, music.

“[Evans] has become more sure of herself. She has done a good job of figuring what things are important to her; she found her places,” says Bethany Schweitzer, Lincoln’s choir teacher. She has known Evans for four years.

“It was the movie “Raise Your Voice” that inspired me to sing.” Evans remembers from when she was little.

At  age 9, Evans received her first voice lesson as a birthday present. Music has always been a part of her life.

“Music is so much part of who she is. Music is something she will always do,” Schweitzer says.

Now that she is a senior, she teaches voice to four students, writes her own songs, is a section leader in choir and manages Lincoln’s student-run a cappella group, Vivace.

It is clear that Evans is not lacking talent for singing at all. Because of her outstanding teaching skills of music, Evans was selected as the section leader in choir.

“She has a lot of experience in music, and is highly trained in voice and piano. She has great leadership qualities.” Schweitzer says, which made her a natural choice for section leader.

Evans must know the song and be able to help others if they need it. On occasion, Evans will have to teach the section their part.

In addition to being a section leader, for three years Evans has run Vivace,  the a cappella group. Evans is president of the group and devotes hours of work to the group. She arranges the songs, teaches the group the song, choreographs and prepares the group for competitions.

“The environment Lara creates for the group is very positive. It is more focused on enjoying the music than winning.” says junior Kate LeBlanc, vice president of Vivace.

During rehearsals, Evans is on task and focused on making the music the best it can be. She maximizes her time, and teaches as much as she can.

“It’s really impressive a student has the ability to lead that Lara has. She always has a plan during rehearsal.” LeBlanc says.

Evans has been involved in Vivace since she was a freshman. Her talent for singing and a cappella landed her a spot in the highly selective A Cappella Academy, an international summer camp in California. This year will be Evans third year at the camp.

In January Evans won first place for her  “outstanding” a cappella arrangement at the International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA) competition. Throughout her teachings, Vivace’s scores in these competitions have grown remarkably. In addition, Vivace also received an award for best soloist, Lincoln freshman Charlotte Odusanya.

Since sophomore year, Evans has been teaching voice lessons. Currently, she mentors four students once a week.

There is no doubt that Evans has mastered the ability to sing, perform and teach. On top of this, Evans has been writing her own songs for years.

“I’ve written many songs. I was in sixth grade when I wrote my first song, but it wasn’t very good.” Evans laughs.

Evans has continued to write songs ever since, and describes her writing style as more indie pop.

Evans involvement in the music community gives her a unique opinion on the social groups here at Lincoln. She believes that it is important to bridge the gap between students involved in athletics and students who are more involved with the arts.

“It is important to appreciate interests and show support for other activities, accept other’s interests and eliminate stereotypes,” Evans says. “Being friends with the people you do things with is easy, but it’s good to branch out.”

LeBlanc believes the Vivace helps bridge this gap. “Vivace is not all about kids who are only in music programs. They have other interests. Vivace helps to bridge friendship circles.”

Evans wants to continue her pursuit of music throughout college, as she plans to attend NYU in the fall, in hopes that she will someday be a part of the recording industry.