Aspen Stevens, junior at Shadow Ridge High school, is making waves in the orchestra, and small business world. Not only is she an exceptional entrepreneur, she also is an accomplished violinist.
Stevens began her musical career at the age of six.
“I come from a very musical family… my mom played the cello, and my two older brothers played the cello, so I was sick of the cello. I wanted to play something else,” stated Stevens. She decided the violin was more up her alley and quickly began progressing on the instrument.
She has been a member of Zion’s Youth Symphony and Chorus for six years and performs twice a year downtown at the Smith Center with the group. She has also been a member of the Nevada All State Orchestra and Honor Orchestra for the past two years. Her sophomore year, she was principal second violin.
Stevens also plays in the Chamber Orchestra here at Shadow Ridge. When speaking about Stevens, Orchestra Director Edward Richards stated, “I think Aspen has a tremendous work ethic. She goes above and beyond what is asked of her. The thing that I most enjoy about having [her] in the classroom is her charming attitude and demeanor. She is very coachable and willing to try new techniques or refine skills to make the group better. She is always positive and seems to put others before herself. Aspen is one of the best young violinists I have ever had the privilege to work with. I know she is heading for great things in the future.”
One of Steven’s crowning achievements as a violinist was performing as a soloist with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra. She participated in their young artist competition and earned a top three spot (top three got to perform as soloists).
“It was super cool!” Stevens stated, “I’ve never played as a soloist before, and the whole symphony was accompanying me!”
After the event she was even interviewed on channel 8, KLAS, and got to show off her musical skills to Las Vegas. Stevens’ advice for musicians who feel like they are having a hard time progressing, or people who are thinking about learning to play a musical instrument is, “Go through the struggle! Sometimes you feel like, ‘This sucks, I can’t get this certain part,’ or, ‘This sounds too hard!’ But… it’s just your mindset. Keep pushing through and trying new things, then you can get where you want to go.”
Along with being a fantastic musician, Stevens also dabbles in other forms of art. She owns her own business called Aspen Makes Cakes, whipping up custom wedding and birthday masterpieces, along with a lot of cupcakes. Anything her customers dream up, she can make a reality.
Stevens remarks, “When I was growing up, my mom would always make us homemade birthday cakes. I thought it would be a really fun skill to learn!”
And she has put that skill to good use, giving her a source of income and a new ability she brings to the table.
Along with running her own business, Stevens has a lot of other things going on in her life. Like practicing her violin and other musical instruments, juggling family and friend time, and running for Shadow Ridge’s cross country and track teams.
Stevens says that one of the most valuable lessons she has learned from trying to keep on top of everything she has going on is time management.
Stevens feels that, “Keeping track of things, managing my time well, and planning everything out in advance so I know when to do things…” are all key to keeping her life on track.
Though she has a lot going on, Stevens enjoys the things she does and hopes to keep progressing and excelling in all that she does.
