Klubek’s academics stay in tune

For this is music’s inner voice

Saying yes we hear you

All you who cry aloud

And we will fly, answering you

So our lives sing

We will fly

Wild in spirit we will fly

— Flight Song

Erin Klubek hasn’t cried yet while singing those lyrics. But she thinks she might get a little teary-eyed when she takes the stage at today’s Iola High School graduation ceremony, where she and fellow classmates will sing the song.

“Flight Song” reassures Erin. And she knows as she heads to MidAmerica Nazarene University to study music, the verses will come in handy.

“It really communicates how life is going to be later. Just soar through it and it’s going to be OK,” she said.

Music surrounds Erin’s life. It’s been part of her family history. She and her mother, Natalie, play the clarinet. Her father, Kelly, and her older sister, Emily, play the trumpet. Emily plays in the band at Pittsburg State University. All four family members participate in the Iola Municipal Band.

Melodies compose her earliest memories. Erin remembers the soothing sound of her mother’s voice, singing religious hymns to lull her to sleep when she was a young child. “There’s Something About That Name” was one of her favorites, but, she says, “there’s so many” songs that strike an emotional cord.

Though Erin has a long list of accomplishments in band — she participated in district band all four years and state band last year — she prefers to sing.

“While I’m singing, I feel wonderful,” she said. “The most amazing thing is when I perform, I can communicate through the music.”