Every family has something special about them. Singing and playing instruments is what makes the Perstrope family unique. Senior Tyler Perstrope, sophomore Chloe Perstrope, and freshman Ellie Perstrope all have been singing and performing together as a family from a young age.

Chloe said that her parents have grown up with music present in their life so they wanted their kids to establish the same love for it that they had.

“Because [my parents] have always had music in their life and wanted us to develop the same passion they have,” Chloe said.

Ellie said that she enjoys it when she performs well and it becomes exciting but when she performs in front of other people she tends to feel anxious because she doesn’t want to sing poorly.

“I like when I sing good because then it’s a lot of fun to do with my family but sometimes it feels a little weird when other people hear us sing because it makes me nervous and I don’t like it when I mess up and sing bad,” Ellie said.

Tyler said that his parents have always encouraged him and his siblings to pursue music and he discovered that he had a talent for it so he continued to do it and found it entertaining to do it with his family as well

“My family has always been musical and I realized that I had the talent for it and went with it, and it’s always fun to not only have the talent for myself but to play with family,” Tyler said.

Ellie said that as a kid her parents forced her siblings into learning to play the guitar but she chose to also learn the piano because that’s what she wanted to do

“I play mostly the piano and also the guitar, when I was six I asked my dad if I could play the piano because I wanted to and they forced my siblings but they didn’t really force me into it,” Ellie said.

Chloe said that her parents made her and her siblings sing when they were younger and she used to not enjoy it when they would make her sing but over time she figured out that she liked singing for her own enjoyment.

“[My parents] forced us to sing when we were growing up and so I never wanted to [sing] until I realized that I enjoyed it for myself,” Chloe said.

Ellie said that she and her brother will perform solos at their family’s church but she prefers singing with her family because it takes some of the attention off of her and is more entertaining to hear other voices and instruments at the same time.

“Sometimes me and Tyler both do solos at our church ourselves but Chloe does not ever, but I think I like doing it with my family better because it’s not as much pressure on me and it’s also fun to have more instruments at the same time,” Ellie said.

Ellie said that an experience that she gained from performing with her family was the opportunity to sing at a Cardinals game with both her parents and family friends, and it was something exciting for her that she hopes to be able to do again.

“I sang ‘God Bless America’ at the Cardinals game with my parents and some of my family friends a year ago for a summer camp, and there were a lot of people at my church we do music with and that’s a super cool experience,” Ellie said.