The Antelope Valley is filled with talent. Many talents go unnoticed because of the category that it’s in. None fit the bill more than violin players Rosalyn, 19, and younger sister Nia, 13, — the Darbeau’s.
Rosalyn has been active in music since her adolescent years and has become admirable on violin.
“I’ve been playing music for about 12 years,” Rosalyn said. “I used to play the piano, but I wanted to try something new so I chose the violin and I stuck to it.”
Rosalyn got “tired of the piano” and “chose to play the violin.” It was nine years ago when she first picked up the four-stringed instrument.
“I think it’s a unique instrument and I really like it, I wanted to see how far I could get,” Rosalyn said.
And she’s gone far.
A recent Paraclete High School graduate, she attends California State University, Northridge (CSUN), where she studies music. As
a matter of fact, she just got into the CSUN music program.
“I’m going to be a part of the CSUN orchestra,” Rosalyn said ecstatically.
She devotes around three hours a day to her music — two hours toward the violin.
As for Nia, she’s been playing the violin since she was seven, and also expresses herself as being devotional to her music. But unlike her older sister, she doesn’t have a set schedule or designated amount of time toward her music, it just so happens to vary by the day.
“It depends on how long my practices take,” Nia said about how much time she spends on her music.
Nia, a Hillview Middle School student, cites her older sister as the most influential person, musically, in her life.
“I was inspired,” Nia says “by my sister (Rosalyn). I followed into my sisters footsteps.”
The Darbeau sisters practices at the Palmdale Playhouse where they also do live performances. Nia participates in youth and community practices to better her skills. Youth and community do group and individual concerts as well as other special events that surround the community. Playing individually has become a tough obstacle for Nia to overcome.
“The hardest thing about music is the tryout and to play individually,” Nia said. “It’s only you playing and maybe with a piano accompanying you…”
Both the girls succeed academically as B average students and can play anything from classical to pop music. Rosalyn’s favorite classical piece is called “meditation” which is performed by Thais, and Nia’s is “the bee.” Nia wants to become a professional musician and be famous one day, while Rosalyn wants to be a solo performer, specifically in theatres. And if music wasn’t their driving force, it would’ve been soccer.
They’re the only children of Glen, their father who is vice principal of Pete Knight High School, and Starletta, their mother who is principal of California City Middle School. They described themselves as being a tight-knit family.
“They’re very supportive and they push me to reach the highest potential,” Nia said.
Palmdale Playhouse musical instructor Patricia Graham recalls her first encounter with the Darbeau girls.
“OMG I loved them!” Patricia said joyfully. “Rosalyn was like this little girl and Nia was this tiny little thing, and I just fell in love with them.”
Patricia has been teaching music for 25 years, 16 of them have been with the playhouse, and seven of them with Rosalyn and Nia.
“They work really hard and every week I get them to work on certain things and they come back and they have it down,” Patricia said. “And plus they just have a talent for music, some people are born with it and some people aren’t, and they were definitely born with it.”
Rosalyn truly devours and appreciates the time and effort spent with Patricia. The hard work and late night practices have proved to be worth it. Just take Rosalyn’s acceptance into the CSUN orchestra for example.
“We worked really, really hard last year because she (Rosalyn) wanted to become a performance major at CSUN,” Patricia said.
“That was huge deal that we overcame — earning the one spot open in the CSUN music program.”
“My teacher (Patricia Graham),” Rosalyn says “influences me because she’s really successful in what she does. She’s really, she really hardworking.”
“They are wonderful girls, they show excellence, they show integrity, they come from a wonderful family, they’re parents are awesome,” Patricia said. “They’re like my kids; they’re like my daughters they mean a lot to me.”
-By Donjai Richardson
