At sixteen years old, Anoushka is already a multihyphenate musician. She sings (a soulful and stirring alto). She writes (songs that find milestones in small moments, like having cherry-blossom trees stand in for the passage of time in a young person’s life). She plays (guitar and piano). She produces (at least ten hours a week in the tiny attic studio she designed and equipped herself). And she studies its very essence (digging into the neuroscience of music and how it impacts everything from our mood to our memories). Keep reading to get to know this junior singer-songwriter-producer-musicologist from Lexington a bit better, including when to expect her first LP…

Getting to Know You

What is bringing you joy right now? 

Oh, I love going on walks with my friends during our free periods. We talk about anything and walk down the Commonwealth Mall ’til we get to the Commons, and there's the entire Boston skyline. It's just so beautiful outside right now.

What is your favorite book (or a book you’ve re-read)? 

The Night Diary, by Veera Hiranandani. It follows this young girl—she’s about twelve or thirteen, and I was that age when I read the book—after the partition between India and Pakistan and how she's dealing with her many identities and finding her own voice. It's just such an amazing coming-of-age novel. 

What are your favorite comfort foods? 

In Kerala, the state of India I'm from, we have a traditional meal called Sadhya during special occasions. It's a lot of different curries and rice—pineapple pachadi is one of my favorites. It's just something that always reminds me of big family events and important days in my culture, so I really love that. 

What do you think is the most intriguing paradox? 

I've got to be honest: I don't know much about my paradoxes. I like the grandfather paradox, because the loop of time can be applied to so many different things. But I think paradoxes are so interesting overall, because you can think about them for hours, you can debate them with people, but you're never gonna get to a strong conclusion. How is it possible that something without a conclusion exists? Is that a paradox in itself?

What was/is your favorite class (at Commonwealth or elsewhere)? 

That is a hard one. I'm going to have to say Biology 1. I really loved it. It's so cool learning about not just how we function as humans but how, on the smallest, genetic level, that's changed over time. 

When do you feel the most enjoyably challenged?

When I have a really difficult chemistry problem and I'm crowding around a table with all my friends, doing our homework in a free period. That happens a lot before tests, and I think my grade, specifically, has gotten into this habit of taking whiteboards to help us study before science exams. We're all bouncing ideas off each other trying to solve one problem, and then when you get it, it's the best feeling ever. 

What never fails to make you laugh?

I know this is what everyone says, but definitely my friends. When we're hanging out before school or riding on a train, we are constantly trying to make each other laugh. So many inside jokes in our grade! We all feel comfortable with each other enough to have those nice moments. 

What are people most surprised to learn about you?

I sleep talk! When I told my friends, they didn't believe me until they had to bunk with me at Hancock, and they could hear me murmuring in my sleep about the most random things. 

What’s the best compliment you could get?

If someone says I'm a good teacher. If I’m teaching my friend something, and they understand it at the end, that makes me feel good. It helps them but it also reinforces my own learning if I understand the concept enough to teach it. 

Pen or pencil? 

For the humanities—English, Spanish, history—it's pen when I annotate. And then for STEM classes, it's always gonna be pencil.

Coffee or tea?

Tea. I don't understand how people can put themselves through coffee first thing in the morning. It's just so bitter! 

Fall, winter, spring, or summer?

Oh, that is such a hard one. I'm gonna have to say fall. School starting up is always exciting. But I also love New England in the fall. It's just so beautiful, with all the colors, especially on the Esplanade. 

Life as a Commonwealth Student (and Beyond)

What was your first impression of Commonwealth and how has it mapped to your experience?

I'll be honest: at first it was, “Wow, this is a really small school!” I had come from a very large school, and I'd been at large schools my entire life. I remember sitting in on a Socratic discussion in history and thinking, “People are just bouncing ideas off each other, and everyone just really wants to be here.” They wanted to learn in a way that I hadn’t seen before. And I thought that was such an interesting environment that I definitely wanted to be part of.

Using metrics besides grades, how do you define “success” in your classes?

This is a good one! I would say, when I can ask a question in class that adds to the discussion. That feeling of, “Okay, I understand this enough to ask about something that goes even further than what my teacher is saying.” That also means I'm quite interested in it!

Before Commonwealth, I felt like I always had to choose between music and academics. But Commonwealth has shown me that I never have to put myself in a box. There's a place in my life for all of these different things that interest me. So I definitely think music has a place in my future.

You’ve shared your music production practice—and talents as a singer-songwriter!—with our community through concerts, Hancock talent shows (and jam sessions), Project Week presentations, and more. How did you get into music, and what has sustained your work? 

I have been playing piano for thirteen years now, which is something I don't think a lot of people know. And my dad has been a huge vinyl collector since he was a kid—rock to soul and everything in between, from countries across the world—so I was exposed to many different kinds of music. I was brought up in such a musical household that I was just naturally attracted to it, especially in middle school when I started singing and songwriting. Growing up, you have so many complex feelings, and I think everyone should have some way to express them. Singing and songwriting was just a really great way to express mine. 

When I came to Commonwealth, I was still singing a lot, still songwriting a lot, and looking for different performance opportunities. Obviously, I sing in Chorus and Chorale—we have a great music program. I’ve also done arrangements for the plays, which was new to me and an opportunity to work with other musicians. And then my music production started very recently. I have all these written songs, and I've always wanted to release them, but that's always been a dream that I never really thought I could achieve. But then I thought, “Wait, what if I buy the equipment and just sit down and try?” And now I have a little setup in my attic, with a bunch of microphones and guitars lying around, where I work when I'm not doing homework. I’ll write a song in my room, and then when I feel like I have something that I can put in production, I go up there. It's a nice space for me to get away from the world and be in my own brain, sorting out feelings and things. 

When I first started this process, it was so daunting, because there are so many different creative avenues you can take with production, and you get so caught up in the details; I'll tune one synth sound for an hour. Even in thirty seconds of a song, you can have this full musical arrangement, and it's making you feel the way that you want a song to make you feel. It's so cool: “I really made that.”

I spend about five to six hours on the weekend and at least an hour a day through the week recording, songwriting, or just sitting with my guitar late at night, strumming something out. It's my way of relaxing. It's also become a way for me to procrastinate on my homework... 

What or who are your musical influences?

Honestly, I don't feel like I could pinpoint exactly where my sounds are coming from. Recently, I’ve been listening to Lizzie McAlpine and Claro and Big Thief. I love those artists. But, musical-influence wise, I feel like artists can never pinpoint where their sounds come from, because it's something you become accustomed to as you grow, and you develop your own intuitions. I think that is one of the coolest parts about being a musician.

How would you describe your own style and genre?

When I'm performing, I like to sing louder, soulful songs to show some of the technicality of it. But when I'm songwriting, it's so much more about the emotion, about me trying to get my audience to feel the way I feel. It’s more intimate. I always like to write about small moments and expand on them, because I feel like that's when the most detail can come out. Recently, I wrote a song about the cherry blossoms on every street. I love that one. The city has become a pretty big theme in my writing, because of coming to Commonwealth. I also wrote a song about just going through a year and feeling like you've changed at the end of it and seeing your friends change with you, like you've matured. I’ve been writing so many songs about coming of age.

What do you envision in your future, as a musician?

I'm planning on releasing an album this fall, hopefully. After that, a career in music has always been like a dream of mine, but it’s also never felt possible. Before Commonwealth, I felt like I always had to choose between music and academics. But Commonwealth has shown me that I never have to put myself in a box. There's a place in my life for all of these different things that interest me. So I definitely think music has a place in my future. 

Besides making music, how do you spend your time outside of the classroom?

I co-lead the Neuroscience Club with Layla '28. Something Commonwealth has shown me is that I can combine my passions. I've always been passionate about science, so I've been trying to study how it connects to music. I've learned some interesting things about how music affects our emotions and our memory cognition, like how it can affect people with neurodegenerative disorders later in life. When you hear a song and you’re brought back to one specific moment: how does that happen? And how could that be harnessed in improving people's mental health and well-being? Music really does have such a big impact, and music cognition is a super interesting field that's on the cutting edge. So that’s something I've been exploring.

Related: Explore Student Clubs and Activities

When do you feel most connected to other students (or teachers/staff members) in our community?

I’d say recess. It’s such a cool part of the day, because it's every single person in the school down in our little Cafegymnatorium, raising their hands, standing up, and announcing absolutely anything they want. It doesn't even have to be about our school; sometimes it's about politics or the MBTA or other stuff. Sitting with my friends and just laughing with our community at these inside jokes that we have as a school: that’s when I really feel connected.

What’s your advice for prospective students considering Commonwealth? 

So, when I first visited Commonwealth, I thought, “Okay, everyone here is insanely smart.” And it was very daunting and very intimidating, but one thing I've learned—and I think the best possible advice [for prospective students]—is to not try and be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, then you should probably leave it. A lot of people here are used to being at the top of their class, but no matter what level you're at, you're going to struggle here at some point. That can be pretty frustrating at first, but by the end of freshman year, I was like, “No, this is actually really cool.” Because everyone knows a lot about something; maybe I’ll know more about music than my friend, but they'll definitely know more than me about something else. You fall in love with the process of learning, which everyone does at some point at Commonwealth and is something very unique about our school. 

How has your Commonwealth experience colored the way you look at the world? How you plan for your future? 

I feel like Commonwealth teachers will never put you in a box. They’re always very much trying to connect the ideas we learn in the classroom to what’s outside it. Like, in history class, if you're learning about politics in ancient China, you’ll also think and talk about politics right now. Commonwealth never keeps the learning inside the classroom; it can always be applied outside. City of Boston [part of the yearlong Ninth-Grade Seminar] is a great example of that and something I hope I keep with me for the rest of my life—just that love of learning and knowing that it doesn't only have to happen when there's a teacher and a whiteboard. 

Meet Commonwealth Students