Jan Risher

Long Story Short

At 18, Erika Alexander may appear like a typical high school senior.

She’s been the drum major for the high school band. She loves Dr. Pepper. She’s obsessed with the color purple (a light purple, not a dark purple — basically like a violet). She loves Cane’s chicken. She’s spent the last week gearing up for Festival International.

Festival International is important to her. It changed her life.

When she was in the sixth grade, living a rough and tumble life filled with awfulness few of us can imagine as reality — including serious hunger and all sorts of abuse — someone took Alexander to Festival International, and something just clicked when she saw Mucca Pazza.

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She knew, in that moment, that she wanted to be in a marching band.

With the dire lack of support at home, this idea seemed almost incomprehensible at the time, but she decided to devote all her energy into making it happen.

So she did. Within a year, she ended up in the foster system, but she kept the marching band as her focus.

“I made it out of the foster care system because of music — marching band, specifically,” Alexander said. “It was so time consuming, and band directors have been really good role models.”

She credits Scotty Walker, the band director at Lafayette High, for getting her on the path she’s on today.

“I was a freshman, and I was having a rough day. I went to his office. He saw that I was struggling and stepped in,” she said.

“He started me on oboe. He taught me everything I know as a musician. I’ve learned more stuff since then, but he gave me my passion for music. I’ve wanted to be like him. In foster care, that’s what kept me going these last three years to have the passion for music and teaching.”

When it comes to music, she’s found ways to solve all sorts of problems — even practical ones.

For example, a good oboe reed costs about $30. Alexander has worked for two years to learn to make her own — and she’s good at it. With the help of a $200 kit, she can make 10 reeds for the price of what she used to pay for one, but learning to do so hasn’t been easy.

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Alexander’s dedication to detail, sweet spirit and general drive have inspired Sevie Zeller to do what she can do to support the high school senior.

When Alexander turned 18 and was able to leave the foster system, she moved in with Zeller, her husband, Steven, and their family.

“We bonded with Erika because she’s a really incredible person, despite the traumatizing things that have happened to her,” Zeller said. “She uses music as an escape from some really deplorable conditions. We believe in her. We believe she can break the cycle of addiction in her family.”

Alexander’s goal is to be the first person in her family to go to college, but there are still a few barriers between her and her goal.

She auditioned for and has earned a partial scholarship to play oboe in LSU’s ensembles, but she has to have a Lorée oboe, a professional level oboe, to accept the scholarship.

Even with the offer and the uncertainties of TOPS, Alexander isn’t sure she can swing all the finances required to make LSU work for her.

However, in Lafayette, she could live with the Zellers and make going to college more affordable. So, she’s talking to a financial aid advisor and will also audition at UL soon.

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“Music has been an escape since I was young,” Alexander said. “When I play music, I feel magical. Through music and marching band, I’ve learned so much about myself, including discipline. Music gives me hope. I want to go to college and become a teacher and eventually become a music therapist.”

She also plays flute for the concert band and saxophone for the jazz band — oh, and she plays trumpet and mellophone, too.

I asked Alexander about her favorite song. Without hesitation, she said, “Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger — that’s G-R-A-I-N-G-E-R. I discovered it my freshman year. It’s stuck with me. I love playing oboe with that music.”

I also asked if she had told Walker at Lafayette High the difference he made in her life. She said she had.

“I saw him at honor band not long ago. I’ve told him the difference he made,” she said. “I’ve always had something inside of me that made me believe that no matter what was going on or how bad things were — that they would get better.

"Even if I didn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, I created one. I used music to create something beautiful when my life wasn’t.”

So, if you’d like to be a part of getting this girl to college or know someone who might have a Lorée oboe that could go to a good home and change a life, contact me and we’ll make that happen.

And if you know the folks in Mucca Pazza, let them know there was an 11-year-old girl who saw them on Jefferson Street in 2011 who says thank you.

If you would like to donate to a Go Fund Me account set up to purchase Alexander an oboe and contribute to her college expenses, please go to https://www.gofundme.com/oboeandcollege.