Music for ALL
Music Education in Public Schools
I graduated from Westport High School in 2016 ready to move onto bigger spaces. Although I cherished the moments that made me feel true joy I don’t deny that it was also an uphill battle. All I have ever wanted to do was perform. I entered freshman year so excited to share the stage with a group of talented seniors and learn more challenging music. I entered my freshman year just as the drama club was dissembled and the chorus had to start from square one. Everything I had been looking forward to didn’t exist anymore.
Fortunately in my junior and senior years at Westport, the chorus had gained a few members and the drama club was restarted. After meeting students from all over in college, I realized how threadbare the programs in my public school system were. The programs were constantly in jeopardy. Students and teachers constantly fought for validation and financial support from the school board and administration. We performed with the budget of a new student-run theatre troupe. Meanwhile, my friends at other schools performed three full shows a year without a doubt that they would have another program the following year. I graduated proud of the work my peers and I had done to restart the performing arts programs at Westport. But now that work is being undone yet again.
13 Likes, 0 Comments - Emma Young (@emmay6) on Instagram: "Tri-County Chorus Festival 2016 Day 2! Such a fun time! "
Moving Music Forward
After hearing the news about another falter in Westport’s music program, all I wanted to do was give back. Westport gave me my first ever music production class. It inspired me to purchase my first basic recording equipment. It inspired me to major in contemporary music. I can’t let a program that influenced my career path just slip through the cracks. I want Westport schools to support music education and for the Westport music programs to continue to inspire the many talented students in Westport.
With the single “Looking in Your Eyes” I make a step towards who I am becoming while acknowledging where I came from. So, the entirety of royalties up to 10,000 streams (or equivalent download), I will match, and donate to the Westport Music Boosters.
Looking in Your Eyes is my first online release in four years. While I kept writing and performing songs in my alt/indie piano style, I longed to switch to an electronic sound. After playing and producing in my band Sleep for Dinner, I finally had the confidence to release a self-produced EDM song.
I started as a pianist and my single "Looking in Your Eyes" returns to my acoustic roots by beginning the track with pulsing piano chords. Slowly, the track is brought up into a new, airy space during the intro. This represents my evolution in songwriting from an acoustic singer/songwriter to electronic producer. "Looking in Your Eyes" celebrates uncertainty in love. It captures the excitement of falling for someone new and not knowing how it will end. It is dizzying, a little scary, and completely blissful. Changing my path as an artist away from indie/acoustic and towards a genre that represents who I really want to be, is like falling for someone new. In the beginning, all you really know is you want that person, and you have to trust your heart to make the right choice.
I want listeners to take a drive or step out into nature and absorb the ethereal tone of my music. I lay deeply personal lyrics over a bed of pulsing synths so listeners are transported to a introspective dream space. A watery vocal quality falls over the heartbeat style kick and bass. While the constant rhythm and saturated vocals lean towards the lo-fi realm, my lyrics and surprising instrumentation maintain the indie/pop genre.
More than making a statement about my path as an artist, and more than a representation of how far I’ve come, “Looking in Your Eyes” supports music education and the performing arts. Every play is a step towards keeping a program that inspired me and can continue to inspire many other future creators and dreamers. PLAY ON!