Name That Tune: Tulsi Parikh

This week’s Name That Tune is brought to you by Tulsi Parikh, a sophomore at Memorial High School. Tulsi is a School Buzz correspondent, a student council representative at MHS, an active member of her theatre troupe, and a talented pianist and vocalist. Read on for excerpts from our interview. Watch her video to see if you can name the tune. 

Name: Tulsi Parikh
Age: 15
Profession: Sophomore at Memorial High School
Instrument: Piano and Voice
See if you can name that tune.
Watch Tulsi's full video here.

Tell me a little bit about how you got into music and particularly playing piano.

I come from a musical family. On my mom’s side of the family, all my aunts and uncles are self-taught musicians. They’ve learned a lot of Indian instruments and some of them sing, too. Whenever we visit with my family, we listen to their music. I got really into it when I was younger! So when I was seven, my mom put me in piano. I think she thought it was a good place to channel my energy and maybe I would stop screaming around the house. And then, when I was eight, I got into theatre. That is when I found my love of singing. When I came to Memorial High School, I started playing piano and singing together. I still do theatre, and I love it.

What type of music do you enjoy playing the most?

On the piano, I like playing songs that I can sing to, so I can put the two together. For just listening, I like older music like U2 and Bruce Springsteen. I also like newer music by Sara Bareilles and Conan Gray. I also do theatre, so, of course, I have a playlist of showtunes and musicals, as well.

How often do you play? Has quarantine given you more time and opportunities?

Actually, more opportunities. With all this free time, I’ve gotten to learn so many more songs on the piano. And then for theatre, we’ve been filming all of our productions. I actually stopped piano lessons last year and I haven’t had much time to play. But the only pro from online school was that I had so much more time to play and sing. 

What extracurriculars are you involved in at school?

I am in theatre, a representative in Student Council, and I write for School Buzz. I’m really involved in theatre. I do most of the productions at school. And outside of school, I participate in Wildfish Theatre. For School Buzz, I typically write articles about theatre, but lately, I wrote an article about Hurricane Laura. I also wrote another article about the social and racial injustices going on in our country right now [which ran in our Buzz Kidz column]. (See all of Tulsi's articles here.) 

You are very talented! You are a writer for School Buzz and a musician and a thespian. Where do you draw from for inspiration?

This is really cheesy, but my mom. She’s really an inspiration to me. But don’t tell her I said that! Whenever I’m having trouble with an article, she helps me and is always there for me. Also, my family has really impacted and influenced everything about me – the way I perform and the way I write, my music taste, everything!

What are your goals as a musician? Do you plan on pursuing music?

I do really love playing the piano and performing, but I think I want to pursue a writing profession and maybe music and theatre as a minor. Since I’ve been doing theatre for so long, I want to keep it going. But I’m really interested in pursuing writing as a career. I love what I do for School Buzz and writing would be a great job!

Watch Tulsi's full video clip here.