Some 94 area students will be profiled in The Republican and on MassLive.Com on June 12
Bianca Couture, of Springfield Central High, is among The Republican's 2012 Talented Teen in the Arts who will be profiled on June 12 in print and on MassLive.Com More than 100 teens were nominated by more that two dozen area schools and studios.Singing past the bullies
By BIANCA L. COUTURE
Springfield Central High
As a child, I was often bullied for being what was considered overweight. When I finally began singing, I realized that I was good at something many people weren’t. This brought back my confidence. Although I was teased, I had something many didn’t. I could sing.
During my junior year, I was offered an internship with the Children’s Chorus of Springfield and here I realized that other children were going through the same thing I had experienced when I was younger. Children were shy because they didn’t think they were good enough. I accepted this as an opportunity to help the kids open up and use music as something to build their confidence.
Because I am still an intern at the Children’s Chorus of Springfield, I have been able to watch many of these shy children grow into outgoing and musically ambitious young people. And I had helped.
Music had always been there to help me grow, and it was amazing to be able to see it help others do the same.
Art, whether music, drama, or visual art, gives people a way to release any frustrations they have been feeling and create something beautiful. The best part about any art form is that you can do anything you want with it; it is completely open to the interpretation of the creator.
Of course, there will always be someone around to criticize it but it doesn’t matter because the project served its main purpose at its creation, for its artist to free his or her stress.
I love that art is what you want it to be. Any piece that I work on gets a little of my style added to it, no song can be sung exactly the same by any two people. The fact that all music is different amazes me. The unlimited opportunity to make something sound beautiful is what keeps me interested.
Music can never be boring to me.
Bianca L. Couture will attend Smith College in Northampton in the fall.
She was nominated as a Talented Teen in the Arts by Springfield Central High teacher Jeanne C. Parks who noted in her nomination that Couture has “done all the school musicals, doing beautifully, anything big or small that is asked of her. She can handle the broad spectrum from high soprano parts all the way to gutsy country singer.
"She does it all, always keeping her own sound.” Some 94 teens are profiled from nearly 30 area schools and private studies in tomorrow’s The Republican and on MassLive.Com
‘Music is a passion’
By MAI-TRAM RIQUIER
Longmeadow High
I have always been a clumsy type of person; I am often made fun of for tripping over things or fumbling over my words. But somehow when I play music, people no longer see that side of me. I can finally express exactly what I mean and it suddendly comes out so clearly.
Longmeadow High School Talented Teen Mai-Tram Riquier. I have a reason to practice grueling arpeggios and scales: to create something that approaches perfection.
Music creates a place where I can forget the worries of life, a place where I am always secure. Music is a passion that lets me take all my life experiences and emotions and release them for the world to finally hear.
Music has the power to draw me in; it is my obsession, but it is the healthiest obsession in the world. It does not harm me, and only gives me constant satisfaction.
In music there is no such thing as failing. If I don’t make it into a group or bomb an audition, it does not matter because I have improved so much just from practicing for it.
With music, the amount of hard work I put in and the results are always directly proportional, and it is incredibly rewarding. The hard work is tangible. I will practice for hours upon end and that will result in my improvement.
Practicing music has taught me work ethic and has instilled in me a yearning to constantly improve. I want to continue learning about music, about the violin, and about music theory. I want to truly understand as many aspects as possible about music and grow as a musician.
My journey with music is never ending; I can always be a better musician and I will always strive to be one.
Mai-Tram Riquier’s college acceptances include George Washington University. She was nominated by music teacher Kayla B. Werlin who wrote: “Mai understands that excellence is not an end in itself, but a means to true artistry. She leads by example and has become a role model in our music program.”
Link to childhood
By CHRISTOPHER M. HODGE
East Longmeadow High School
The feeling that you get when you perform in front of hundreds of people in a full concert band is indescribable to anyone who has not experienced it. Music has a strange way of creating a bond between people that know nothing about each other, and this bond is one that can establish relationships that will last a lifetime.
Talented Teen Christopher M. Hodge, of East Longmeadow High. As a child, I had always had an interest in playing my brother’s drum set. At the time, I was only six years old and I had no idea what music really meant, but there was always something I felt when I would play. Maybe it was the fact that I always had music to turn to when everything else seemed hopeless. Or the fact that it was something that I could do that most kids my age couldn’t. Whatever it was, I loved every minute of it and it has stuck with me up until now.
The amazing part about performing on the drums is that it is the same now as it was as a child. I believe that connection to my childhood allows me to forget everything no matter what is going on in my current life, and help me reach my inner-self.
Once I reached high school, I began to become interested in recording and writing music. Originally, it was a small little setup, but over the past few years, my studio has blossomed into a fully functional home-studio. The greatest part of this is that no matter the artist, I can find appreciation in every aspect of their music.
When bands ask me to record drums for them, I get a feeling that all of my work has paid off and that my drumming is not just a personal connection with myself, but it is also something that others can appreciate by hearing me play.
No matter where life takes me, I will always have the same appreciation for music that I had as a young boy, and it will never change.
I hope to create new friendships and connections with my future music endeavors, and that they will also allow me to reach my highest potential in life.
Music has brought me to places that I would never have known or imagined about in my entire life, but because of music, these experiences will always stay with me.
Music is all around us and I always take the time to stop and listen to the beauty that can be found in it because as a musician, I will always appreciate what music has to offer.
Christopher Hodge plans to attend Berklee College of Music Boston. He was nominated by teacher J.P. Kiernan who wrote: “Christopher is a gifted and hardowrking student who has made a tremendous impact on our program.”