Barbora Matuzaite is an 8th-grade student in our school. She comes from Lithuania. We didn’t know much about her when she enrolled, but after a month or so, we started noticing her songs on social media, and we were blown away by her talent. We are pretty sure you will feel the same after you hear her sing and play. But before that, here is your chance to get to know her better. In this interview, Barbora talked about her passions, artistic expression, and how online schooling has helped her with her various hobbies and interests.
Can you tell us something about yourself? How old are you, and where are you from?
I’m Barbora, and I’m 15 years old. I was born, and I live in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius. I have a wonderful family, two younger brothers. I love life immensely, I love what I do, and I try to spread that love. This is what drives me forward and drives me to create beauty in the world.
We have noticed that you are very talented and music-oriented, can you tell us what instruments you play and what draw you to those specific instruments?
I would say my main instrument is my voice. I also play piano and ukulele. I started playing the piano when I was 11 years old. Since I was singing, I thought I would like to accompany myself by playing the piano. This is how my journey with this instrument began. Well, speaking of the ukulele, it was bought for my brother. But he didn’t play, and eventually, the ukulele ended up in my hands and my musical life.
Likewise, we noticed that you are singing – beautifully, if we may add. Can you tell us something about that aspect of your personality?
As I mentioned, my passion for music started with singing. It fascinates me. It is interesting to observe the changing of your voice, its possibilities, and sounds. It’s very engaging for me. I sing very often without even thinking about it. As if some melodious current flows through my veins.
What music artists or genres have influenced and shaped your style?
I think that every artist is influenced by many different artists and genres. I am happy that although I did not grow up in a family of musicians, my family, especially my father, loves music very much, and it is played in my home very often. And the music playing is very diverse, from jazz to rap and popular music. In piano lessons, I play classical music, and in dance lessons, I dance to – experimental – more theater music. However, lately, I have fallen in love with Lithuanian music, because, for such a small country, our music scene is truly amazing. And when it comes to music genres, I love psychedelic rock, indie, and alternative music scenes.
Do you write and compose your songs and music, or do you like to do covers?
For me, music is above all creativity. And the artist is the creator. So, I give priority to creating and performing the songs I have written. Although singing covers is a good opportunity to improve my singing skills, my goal is to create and share my art with others. Moreover, you can feel your songs more than any other, because it’s you, it’s about you.
Do you have any other hobbies aside from music?
Oh yes, many! To be honest, I don’t even know if I could say that music is my biggest passion. I have also been dancing for 10 years. For the past 5 years, I have been concentrating on contemporary dance. I am very fascinated by this dance style, the freedom it gives, and the ideas it conveys. I dance in festivals, theaters, television projects, and competitions. I am also very interested in acting. I have participated in an acting program in France, and I also recently played a role in a film dedicated to the new Jewish Museum in Lithuania. Well, apart from the arts, I am very interested in self-development, religion, and spirituality. I like and practice yoga, I am also interested in religions, Buddhist principles, self-exploration, and improvement. I have a dream to one day visit the temples of the world.
Can you tell us what a day in your life looks like and how often you practice?
This is a very difficult question because every day of my life looks completely different. My days include studying, of course, dance rehearsals, piano practice, songwriting, recording in a music studio, filming in a dance video, filming in a movie, or several days in a row participating in dance festivals and competitions. Every day is completely different, which is partly cool because you never know what’s in store for you, but sometimes I long for a bit of a routine that gives me stability.
Aside from being dedicated to your music ambitions, you are also an excellent student. How much online school, with its flexibility, helps you to organize your time better and to have time to do everything that you do while maintaining the status of a diligent student?
I think this school helps me as much as it can help. Overall, I am very grateful for this opportunity. I knew a long time ago that I wanted to pursue my dreams and build my school schedule around my passions and not passions around my school. So, I was looking for a way out for maybe 2 years and I discovered this school on the last day before the official start of the school year. It was a completely spontaneous decision, but I am very grateful both to my parents for supporting me and to this school for its existence. This school changed my life for the better in every way.
Are you satisfied with the EduWW online school – program, platform, teachers, classes, and your friends?
Absolutely! First of all, I want to say that the staff, the teachers here are wonderful. And I am very grateful for their support and help. As for the program, I was also very impressed with it. It is both an interactive and very interesting program. Coming from a traditional school system, it’s hard to think that learning can be interesting, but this school changed my mind. Lessons and questions encourage you to think and express your opinion, which I think is especially important for today’s people. And the platform itself is very easy and convenient to use.
Is music something that you would like to do as a professional one day, or will it remain just a huge passion and a way to express your talent?
Undoubtedly, I associate my future work with music. But I don’t want to limit myself to one profession. I want to travel around the world, conduct yoga classes on the seashore, perform at festivals, and in my concerts, continue to dance professionally, and organize my creativity camps. I have a fear of living the same day over and over again. After all, the world is so wide, and I want to gain as much experience as possible from it, from people full of wisdom, and then return that experience to people and the world through my art.
