Cool Kids: Music is her thing

“Elegantly understated” aptly describes 15-year-old Mead High School freshman Janeczka Marcum.

At first glance, one might mistake the striking young woman for an athlete or model. Neither would be correct, however. Janeczka (pronounced Jan’ez’ka) is a highly accomplished musician and honor student, and by her own assessment, not an accomplished athlete.

“Sports are not my thing,” she says.

A serious student of classical piano, Janeczka has been taking lessons, mostly from her mother, Lisa, since she was in first grade. When asked about her piano playing, she shrugs off compliments and tries to hide her erupting smile.

She has participated in Musicfest Northwest (the largest festival for young musicians and performers of classical dance in the United States) for the past five years. She has won gold and silver medals and had the honor of performing live on KPBX radio. Last year, she received two silver medals at the competition.

At this year’s festival, May 13-18 at Gonzaga University, she will compete in the romantic, impressionist and sonata categories.

When she isn’t playing the piano, Janeczka is playing the trumpet, an instrument she took up in the second semester of her sixth-grade year. She is studying the trumpet privately with Dan Keberle, professor of music at Whitworth College, and plays in Symphonic Band and the second Jazz Band at Mead High School, both directed by John Lack. Jazz II took second place recently at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho in Moscow.

As the third of three children, Janeczka’s musical stage has been somewhat set for her by her two older brothers, Nick, a saxophonist and sophomore studying music at the University of Idaho, and Kurt, an accomplished trumpet player and senior at Mead High School. Her mother has a successful piano studio that she conducts from their north Spokane home.

“Academics are important to me; I study a lot,” Janeczka says.

However, when she isn’t studying for school or practicing piano or trumpet, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

“I do have a social life,” she laughs.

While her summer will be musically full, Janeczka and her family plan to do some vacationing on the Oregon Coast and in the San Juan Islands. She also plans to attend summer camp at Camp Spalding on Davis Lake in Pend Oreille County.

If one is fortunate enough to hear Janeczka play the piano or trumpet, it isn’t hard to draw the connection to her name, which is the Czech word for “God’s gracious gift.”

But when asked about her future plans, music isn’t the first topic.

“I’d like to go to Whitworth College. I’ve given some thought to teaching. I want to somehow pursue music but maybe not teach it. I do have some time to decide, but it is something I think about now.”

Given her success, one can conclude that whatever she decides, Janeczka Marcum will do it well and with grace and style.