When 16-year-old Laci Crosby of Orangeburg was only 5, she saw an acoustic guitar on sale for $25 at an auction and pleaded with her mother, Pam Jackson, to buy it.

"I remember riding home that night making up songs and picking on the guitar strings, and my heart was overjoyed," Crosby said. "I knew the moment I held it in my hands that music would be my passion in life."

Jackson says her daughter has enjoyed music since she was an infant and quickly mastered the guitar when other children were just learning to read.

"Today, when we visit flea markets and auctions, we are always on the lookout for other affordable musical instruments," Pam said.

When Crosby entered sixth grade, she joined the Edisto High School Band, and while she focused on the guitar and trumpet, her band instructor encouraged her to learn to play a variety of instruments.

"I was always trying to get first chair in band because it was something I was serious about," Crosby says. "And one of the most important lessons I learned in the process is practice, practice, practice is the key to success."

As an eighth grader, band director Ophelia Darby encouraged her to try out for the regional band and other band-related activities. She was one of three Edisto students accepted to the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville and spent two weeks there, bettering her knowledge of music.

During ninth grade, Crosby started playing drums, violin and keyboard. Once again, she was accepted to the Governor's School with Dr. Gary Malvern as her instructor and Dr. David Hamilton as the music chairman.

"This was a wonderful opportunity for me, and I learned so much during a short time," she says. "During the student recital, I played a trumpet solo, 'O Isis und Osiris.'"

Currently the drum major and trumpet soloist for the Edisto High School Marching Blue Machine Band, Crosby wants to attend the Governor's School during her junior and senior years to pursue a career in music.

After graduation, she would like to attend the Juilliard School in New York, Furman University or Clemson University.

"This has been an exciting musical journey so far, and it is my goal to become the best musician I can be. Hopefully, I will inspire others to do the same," Crosby says.

When Laci isn't busy making music, she lavishes attention on her kittens, dogs, gerbils and horses. She also enjoys riding dirt bikes and skateboarding.

T&D Staff Writer Sonja Gleaton can be reached by email at sgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com and by telephone at 533-5523. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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