‘I'm involved in lots of things,” Ellie Pline says simply.

That's an understatement.

She hates to toot her horn – unless there's music coming out of it.

The 16-year-old is an International Baccalaureate junior at Annapolis High School. She is involved in student government, music and sports.

Ranked academically among the top five students in the Class of 2017, she is a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society and the Italian Honor Society. She plays varsity lacrosse and is on CCLax, a lacrosse club team. She was the goalie for the girls soccer team last season. Ellie is also secretary for the Class of 2017 student government.

Though she's involved in lots of activities, music is Ellie's passion.

“I want to be a music teacher someday,” the teen said. “I have and have had so many good teachers in all subjects. They're inspiring, but I'm especially drawn to music.”

According to Akshay Gandhi, an Honors Biology and IB Physics instructor, the teen performs “breathtaking music with a talent that would make professionals envious.” He said she's excelled in all of his science classes with a “zealous desire to be the very best.”

“Her natural aptitude for multiple sports also makes her a threat on the field. However, through all of this, her humor and heart shine the most.”

He feels Ellie will bring about positive change because she cares about society.

Playing either the alto saxophone or the tenor sax, Ellie has performed in the AACPS All County Band since 2011, when she was in sixth grade. Since then, the teen has also played at the Maryland State Solo & Ensemble Festival, held each March. Her score each year has been a one, the highest value a musician can achieve on a scale of one to five.

She participates, too, in the annual AACPS Music Camp.

This past fall season, she was the drum major for the Annapolis High School Marching Band.

A member of the Marching Band for three years and the Concert Band for the same period, she earned a place with the Jazz Band two years ago. When the Concert Band plays or rehearses, she is a first chair and section leader.

During the spring 2014 semester, Ellie brought home the Outstanding Solo Award at the Music In The Parks Festival, held in Orlando, Florida. Last summer, with other teen musicians from across the country, she traveled to Europe. There, the group performed seven concerts in four countries.

Chris Gnagey, the music department chair and band and orchestra director of Catonsville High School, met Ellie on the summer American Music Abroad Gold Tour of Europe.

“Ellie has a wonderful, engaging personality and she quickly became a favorite of both the staff and the other students. She has a great sense of humor, she's very mature, and she's an excellent musician,” Gnagey said. “All of these qualities set her apart from most students her age.”

The group visited Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.

“Everything in Austria was Mozart-themed,” Ellie said. “Our first concert was held in a church (that) composer Johann Sebastian Bach attended in Leipzig, Germany. There were 1,300 people in the audience. To play music in such an influential place was just breath-taking.”

With friends from Annapolis, South River and Southern high schools, Ellie is a member of the rock band Carraway. A newer member of the band, she performed at the 2015 Anne Arundel County Battle of the Bands at Maryland Hall.

Former Annapolis High Band director Ada Carter said the teen stands out from the crowd.

“She conquered AP Music Theory as a freshman," said Carter. “I don't know anyone else who's done that. She is able to thoroughly grasp concepts that I've witnessed college students change their major over. She is amazingly talented and destined for greatness in whatever field she chooses.

“I'm so glad to have had an opportunity to be part of her musical education.”

Matt Francis, the music department chair, agrees.

“One of the many things that makes Ellie so unique is how much passion she puts into everything that she is involved in. This is always apparent within the band program here at Annapolis High School where she is a constant leader, an outstanding performer and a huge motivator of her peers, which contributes significantly to the excellence of the program.”

Ellie's mother, Lisa Pline, is a sales manager for JTM Foods, plus she is the school's PTA vice president and president of the Music Boosters Club. Alex Pline, her father, is a NASA software designer. Sister Lexi is a freshman journalism major at Boston University.