The student news site of St. Teresa's Academy

DartNewsOnline

Breaking News
The student news site of St. Teresa's Academy

DartNewsOnline

The student news site of St. Teresa's Academy

DartNewsOnline

Dart News

Senior excels in musical world

McKenzie Miller began musical training at an early age, influenced mostly by her mother | by PAIGE WENDLAND

A three-year old looked up at her violin teacher. She stared down at the strange lines of tape going down the neck of her quarter-size violin. Looking back up to her teacher’s hands, she tried to imitate what her fingers were doing, but the noise that came out didn’t sound as perfect. She gazed up at her mom who looked on, giving an encouraging look every once in a while. Finally, after an intense set of seconds maneuvering her hand to the perfect configuration, the little girl played the note she had worked so hard to sound out.

Senior McKenzie Miller was first introduced to music through her mother, Barbara Miller, a bluegrass artist. She says she grew up listening to her mom’s singing, which made her interest in music grow.
‘My mom’s a musician, and so is my brother, so I grew up with this life like centered around music,’ Miller said.
Barbara wanted McKenzie to be involved in music starting at a young age, so she enrolled her in violin lessons.
‘One day she just told me, ‘ËœYou’re going to play violin,” Miller said.
McKenzie’s first teacher, Elise Street-Bradshaw, used the Suzuki approach of instruction, which starts musicians’ education at a very young age. According to the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA), young children learn music like languages, through repetition and parental encouragement. The method uses large amounts of listening rather than reading music in the early years, similar to how children learn to speak before they can read.
‘Musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability which can be developed,’ the SAA said. ‘Any child who is properly trained can develop musical ability, just as all children develop the ability to speak their mother tongue. The potential of every child is unlimited.’
Although McKenzie stopped taking violin lessons in middle school, she was in the instrumental music class at STA freshman and sophomore year, and she still enjoys playing in her spare time.
Barbara not only influenced her enthusiasm for violin but also began her interest in singing. She began taking voice lessons before freshman year. Last year, she joined the choir at STA as a soprano and began participating in various competitions.
‘[At the Classical Singer Convention,] it was just like a bunch of people in ball gowns at a hotel for no reason,’ McKenzie said. ‘But it was still really fun to meet people who like the same thing as me.’
Miller says her passion in singing is opera, and she hopes to major in voice and opera in college. She is preparing an audition video to send to colleges she cannot visit personally, and she plans to visit closer schools to audition in person.
‘Opera is something that’s unique,’ Miller said. ‘I mean, it’s not something that everybody out there does. I think it would be really cool to have that as a job.’
Along with Miller’s accomplishments playing the violin, she began taking piano lessons this year FOR SURE?. Although she started quite recently, Miller says her knowledge gained through playing the violin has helped her learn quickly, especially when doing things like reading music.
Throughout her life, Miller’s mother has been a heavy influence on her when it comes to music. She says much of her taste in music came from her mom, especially her interest in bluegrass. With years of experience playing the violin and singing and with piano as a new musical talent to add to her list, Miller has astounded STA with her musical capacity in such a variety of areas.
McKenzie says her passion in singing is opera, and she hopes to major in voice and opera in college. She is preparing an audition video to send to colleges she cannot visit personally, and she plans to visit closer schools to audition in person.
‘Opera is something that’s unique,’ McKenzie said. ‘I mean, it’s not something that everybody out there does. I think it would be really cool to have that as a job.’
Along with McKenzie’s accomplishments playing the violin, she began taking piano lessons this year. Although she started quite recently, McKenzie says her knowledge gained through playing the violin has helped her learn quickly, especially when doing things like reading music.
Throughout her life, McKenzie’s mother has been a heavy influence on her when it comes to music. She says much of her taste in music came from her mom, especially her interest in bluegrass. With years of experience playing the violin and singing and with piano as a new musical talent to add to her list, McKenzie has astounded STA with her musical capacity in such a variety of areas.

Senior McKenzie Miller was first introduced to music through her mother, Barbara Miller, a bluegrass artist. She says she grew up listening to her mom’s singing, which made her interest in music grow.

‘My mom’s a musician, and so is my brother, so I grew up with this life like centered around music,’ Miller said.

Barbara wanted McKenzie to be involved in music starting at a young age, so she enrolled her in violin lessons.

‘One day she just told me, ‘ËœYou’re going to play violin,” Miller said.

McKenzie’s first teacher, Elise Street-Bradshaw, used the Suzuki approach of instruction, which starts musicians’ education at a very young age. According to the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA), young children learn music like languages, through repetition and parental encouragement. The method uses large amounts of listening rather than reading music in the early years, similar to how children learn to speak before they can read.

‘Musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability which can be developed,’ the SAA said. ‘Any child who is properly trained can develop musical ability, just as all children develop the ability to speak their mother tongue. The potential of every child is unlimited.’

Although McKenzie stopped taking violin lessons in middle school, she was in the instrumental music class at STA freshman and sophomore year, and she still enjoys playing in her spare time.

Barbara not only influenced her enthusiasm for violin but also began her interest in singing. She began taking voice lessons before freshman year. Last year, she joined the choir at STA as a soprano and began participating in various competitions.

‘[At the Classical Singer Convention,] it was just like a bunch of people in ball gowns at a hotel for no reason,’ McKenzie said. ‘But it was still really fun to meet people who like the same thing as me.’

Miller says her passion in singing is opera, and she hopes to major in voice and opera in college. She is preparing an audition video to send to colleges she cannot visit personally, and she plans to visit closer schools to audition in person.

‘Opera is something that’s unique,’ Miller said. ‘I mean, it’s not something that everybody out there does. I think it would be really cool to have that as a job.’

Along with Miller’s accomplishments playing the violin, she began taking piano lessons this year FOR SURE?. Although she started quite recently, Miller says her knowledge gained through playing the violin has helped her learn quickly, especially when doing things like reading music.

Throughout her life, Miller’s mother has been a heavy influence on her when it comes to music. She says much of her taste in music came from her mom, especially her interest in bluegrass. With years of experience playing the violin and singing and with piano as a new musical talent to add to her list, Miller has astounded STA with her musical capacity in such a variety of areas.

McKenzie says her passion in singing is opera, and she hopes to major in voice and opera in college. She is preparing an audition video to send to colleges she cannot visit personally, and she plans to visit closer schools to audition in person.

‘Opera is something that’s unique,’ McKenzie said. ‘I mean, it’s not something that everybody out there does. I think it would be really cool to have that as a job.’

Along with McKenzie’s accomplishments playing the violin, she began taking piano lessons this year. Although she started quite recently, McKenzie says her knowledge gained through playing the violin has helped her learn quickly, especially when doing things like reading music.

Throughout her life, McKenzie’s mother has been a heavy influence on her when it comes to music. She says much of her taste in music came from her mom, especially her interest in bluegrass. With years of experience playing the violin and singing and with piano as a new musical talent to add to her list, McKenzie has astounded STA with her musical capacity in such a variety of areas.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

Please review the Dart's editorial policy before commenting. Please use your first and last name; anonymous comments will not be published.
All DartNewsOnline Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *