Tema Siegel, a senior at Newton South, participates in Jazz Ensemble and Newtones. When she is not practicing and performing with these groups, she composes her own music. Although she tried her hand at writing in elementary school, she only became serious about it two years ago. Her influences include Lake Street Dive, Regina Spektor, Sara Bareilles, Ben Folds, Amy Winehouse, Esperanza Spaulding, and so on. She is trained both vocally and on the saxophone, and she is self taught on piano and ukulele.