When Sydney Boulter was two years old, she was diagnosed with severe anxiety. For the next several years, she would not speak outside of her house or outside of her immediate family.
At three years old, Sydney began playing the piano. When she was seven years old, she began playing the violin. At the same time, she was going to various speech pathologists and speech labs to diagnose and improve her mutism. Her parents were worried she would never speak again. No matter how difficult it was to speak, it was never difficult for Sydney to play music. Her favorite quote is “where words fail, music speaks.”
When Sydney was ten years old, she started speaking again. At 18 years old, she got an offer she never expected: to be the violin soloist with the American Fork High School Marching Band in American Fork, Utah. She never expected to be in marching band, but accepted the offer.
When asked her about her experience, Sydney says “people don’t realize how special marching band is until they’re in it.” Before every performance, different members would stand up and share their experiences with marching band and how it impacted them. Sydney was welcomed into the marching band with open arms. She’s proud to call many of the members some of her best friends.
Despite being completely mute for a portion of her life, Sydney played a violin solo in front of 1,000 people. When everyone hit the last note of that marching band season, tears fell from Sydney’s eyes. Through music, Sydney found her community, support, and her voice.
