Oxford High School sophomore Sophia Doyle has recently received a folk arts apprenticeship grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission. This grant allows for her to get to work with a local blues musician, Wendy Jean Garrison, until May of 2025. Sophia Doyle has been involved with music since the age of six when she started her first piano lessons, but she recently taught herself how to play guitar. This apprenticeship is focused on the guitar, and is geared towards teaching Sophia Doyle the basics of slide-guitar.
“Slide Guitar, and really blues music in general, is very loose as far as technique,” Sophia Doyle said. “It’s a very open music form and varies dramatically from musician to musician. Of course Wendy has taught me many practical things surrounding music theory and chord formations but she’s also taught me things that I never could have learned on my own.”
Through the apprenticeship, Sophia Doyle is required to perform in front of audiences, which has created opportunities to meet various musicians and has taught her how to build confidence in her abilities.
“There’s not an exact schedule of performances, it just depends on how often we get invited to play places,”Sophia Doyle said. “Wendy has a lot of connections and a well built resume so she pretty frequently gets asked to perform at different events and she normally brings me along and lets me play with her. As I’ve met more people at these events, I’ve been offered more opportunities to play and perform, both with Wendy and on my own.”
Garrison believes that guidance is a very critical part of learning, which is why she was grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this apprenticeship. Slide-guitar specifically is an important part of Garrison’s life, so she is happy to share that
knowledge with Sophia Doyle.
“Slide guitar is a way of connecting with people through shared emotions directly, so it’s everything to me,” Garrison said. “Sophia is willing, tuned in, and does not cling to preconceived notions about music, so she’s great to work with. It has been an opportunity to clarify my thoughts and sharpen what I might know into a format that can be shared in a step by step, logical way.”
Music has been able to bring not just opportunities for Sophia Doyle, but also has been able to impact her life in different manners. Sophia’s mother, Alison Doyle, is grateful for the immense benefits that this apprenticeship has brought to her daughter.
“The grant has allowed Sophia to have a structured music lesson which she had not had before with guitar, and it has also formed a relationship with Wendy and that multigenerational connection has been very impactful,” Alison Doyle said. “Her confidence has grown so much. It’s made her a really good public speaker and she’s developed really strong social skills.”
Sophia Doyle’s love for music has become very evident in her current life, but it was not always that way. According to her mother, she didn’t truly fall in love with music until recently when she picked up a new instrument.
“I think it’s interesting that Sophia was never particularly interested in pursuing music until she started teaching herself guitar,” Alison Doyle said. “While her formal piano lessons certainly helped in her ability to read music, the guitar obsession really came from an internal interest and passion, and that’s where I’ve seen her succeed the most with music. So ultimately, you just have to want it enough to be successful.”
