Age: 17
School: Senior, Baton Rouge Magnet High School
Extracurriculars: President of the Jewish Cultural Association, soccer
Dream job: Performing in a major symphony orchestra
Inspiration: Yung-Chiao Wei, LSU associate professor of double bass
“There are people who just give up and people who don’t work hard,” Caroline Samuels says.
Wise beyond her years, the high school senior understands the necessity of dedication and positivity.
To master her instrument, the double bass, Samuels practices three to four hours each day. At 17, she already performs in ensembles around the city, including the Baton Rouge High Chamber, the Symphony and Jazz orchestras, and the LSU Symphony Orchestra—a gig that gives her college credit she hopes to put to use next fall, although she isn’t yet sure which school she will be attending.
“I started meeting people, and they heard me play and started asking me to play with them,” she says. Success breeds success. “The more I played, the more people I met.”
Classical music has been Samuels’ passion since she was little. She picked up the violin at the Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts, then learned harp, and finally, in middle school, the double bass. Beyond her classical training, she began rock’n’roll bass lessons at Baton Rouge Music Studios in 2012, and she likes to jam with friends on new arrangements of Beatles and Michael Jackson favorites.
“I think she is the hardest-working student I have ever encountered,” says Yung-Chiao Wei, LSU associate professor of double bass.
Samuels began weekly private lessons with Wei in August 2012, and she calls her an inspiration.
“All students have bad habits, but she just changed everything, and [she] tries so hard; I haven’t ever seen a student progress so much,” Wei says. “She’s talented and dedicated and works very hard. She’s inspired and patient.”
