Frank Vail Music Memorial Scholarship

I remember that I couldn’t see over the dashboard yet. It was fall, and the light was filtering through the trees. My dad and I were driving through a stereotypical old-timey neighborhood on a crisp autumn day. I was bouncing to the rhythm of a Tina Dico song, one that had played a million times before in the cab of my dad’s grey Silverado. Growing up, my dad worked really strange hours. There would be times when I wouldn’t see him for days on end. My mom worked regular days as well, so I always had to be dropped off at a daycare in the mornings before I started school. Usually, my mom would drop me off, but today it was my dad. “What do you hear?” my dad asked, reaching across to turn up the radio. “What?” “What makes this interesting to listen to? Why do you like the song, Gwen?” We fell silent for a moment, and my face folded in concentration. I thought about the lyrics, about how it felt to listen to, but I couldn't pinpoint exactly what made the song cool. “I don’t know,” I sighed in frustration. He chuckled to himself “Listen to the beginning of each line. What do you notice?” I zeroed in, trying to pick up all the nuances. We were silent again until my dad revealed the secret. “She adds scratch into each note. She slides up into it, and do you hear how she takes a breath? She makes it part of the phrase.” Of course! Now that he had pointed it out, I couldn't unhear it. It was like suddenly I could see behind the curtain, and an entire world had been inches away. The rest of the way to the daycare, I sat thinking about how music could be so intricate. It was incredible that something about a song I loved, I had missed entirely. But it made the song. Later in the drive, I told my dad that I wanted to play guitar and sing, just like Tina Dico. He told me we could start with piano lessons and see if I even still wanted to play music. Fast forward and now as a junior in high school, I have written over 20 songs. I’m a member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. I won the 2024 National Alliance for Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students. I’m a section leader of the top choir in my school. I have spent the last three years playing various gigs around the Lansing Area, and I regularly go to open mic nights around town. I play at churches, festivals, restaurants, and private parties. It is a privilege and a dream come true every time I have a willing audience. But it all started with noticing something about a song I had heard a million times before. That was the day I realized how differently music hits everyone. Even when I’m frustrated with my bandmates, or overwhelmed with deadlines for song drafts, the thing I keep coming back to is how much I love being someone who makes music. I love writing lyrics that make people feel less alone, lyrics that make people freeze in place, and songs that get stuck in someone's head until they just have to look up the lyrics. It's always changing, always evolving, and I am honored to be a part of the music community.

In today’s world, we tend to think of "gifted" as synonymous with "natural." We see talent as something special, innate, and something that cannot be taken away. From early on in my life, I’ve often been told that I’m gifted when it comes to music. Even before I started playing the flute, my relatives and peers would often comment on my ability to harmonize, learn songs quickly, and whistle any melody I heard. When I joined band in 5th grade, I heard much of the same; “you’re a natural,” and “you have an ear for music”. But like many musicians, I brushed off these compliments and told myself that they were just exaggerations. Indeed, when people praise musicians, they often only see talent, not the underlying time, care, and grit that comes with skill. Though natural talent helps a lot when it comes to music, a gift, musically speaking, is something that has to be cared for and fostered. Skill has roots in hard work, practice, and patience. Talent is a responsibility, not just to yourself, but to others. Being diligent in caring for my gifts is a way to respect and give back to those who have sacrificed their time to support me throughout my journey. In that sense, talent is not something that can be passive. It has to be backed by passion, and not just passion for what you do, but passion for the people you have the opportunity to share your gifts with. Throughout my time as a flutist, I’ve had numerous opportunities to share my talents with others. I’ve been the principal flutist with the Grand Ledge High School Wind Symphony for 3 years, and the principal flutist with the Spartan Youth Wind Symphony as well. Additionally, I auditioned and was selected to be the head drum major for the Grand Ledge Marching Band in my junior and senior years. Outside of school, I’ve been lucky enough to participate in various extracurriculars and honors bands. In 2022, I performed at the Michigan Music Conference and the Western Michigan University Spring Conference with the GLHS Wind Symphony. In 2023, my flute trio was nominated for and performed at the MSBOA Spring Honors Festival. I was chosen to perform in the Kevin Day All-Star Band at the WMU Spring Conference in 2024 and won the first chair position. Just this month, I found out that I was accepted into the MSBOA All-State Band, one of the most prestigious bands in Michigan. However, my biggest musical accomplishment to date was last May, when I won the Lansing Concert Band’s Young Artist Competition, receiving the Bloomquist scholarship and performing a concerto with the LCB. These opportunities have not only improved my musicianship and leadership skills but also allowed me to give back to the community and foster passion in my peers. Participating in these activities has shown me how music can help and inspire people. It has led me to pursue a major in music performance next year so I can continue to grow my skills and impact others’ musical journeys. A spirit of wanting to better myself and “regift” my passions to better the world around me enables me to approach activities with gratitude and joy. I’m motivated by my love of learning and growth. I want to learn new things and challenge myself to encourage others in their journeys. In the end, music is the most universal language and is something that everyone deserves to know. I hope that, through my experiences, I can help others learn to love music in the same way I do.

I have always known that music is how I will help people. When I was younger, my mom would bring me to Barnes and Noble and I would sing and dance on the children's stage, attracting a crowd of curious parents whom I was more than happy to entertain. All this being said, helping people through music is something that was inspired by my siblings. I have been writing music since the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to express my feelings and connect with others. I have found that my music has allowed me to connect with people in a way that I had never experienced before. I will touch on this in more detail later, but this connection, making people feel understood, is what keeps me on my path. I partake in many extracurricular activities, I am part of the Songwriters Tour Group which traveled to LA and played at Hotel Cafe and Tiny Room Studios. I am part of a Sketch Comedy group, I organize gigs for the songwriters at Interlochen, I volunteer as a contemporary music assistant, and I volunteer as an instructor/music director at Broadway Bounds summer theater camp every year to teach the next generation of creatives. I also attended GRAMMYCamplast summer, run by the Grammy Foundation, where we learned all about the business and how to co-write, run a band, and negotiate fair deals. These experiences have brought me the opportunity to connect with so many wonderful people and hear their stories. As an artist, work is interesting but very fulfilling. One of the best parts of my job as an artist is being able to talk to so many different people about their lives. I love being able to connect on such a personal level with people through my music. I often work gigs that I book myself, such as performing at bars and restaurants for a fair of about $150 each. I also volunteer at many different places, including MSVMA (for choir festivals), Interlochen Arts Academy (Managing gigs for singer-songwriters, organizing community events for contemporary musicians, and running peer-to-peer songwriting sessions), and my dad's bar (for larger events with music), as well as volunteering during the summer at Imlay City High School teaching acting, singing, dance, and songwriting to the next generation of artists in the local area. As I mentioned before, helping people feel seen and heard through my music is my calling, I know it. After I played one of my songs “Ugly Dress” at Kresge Auditorium in our show with Grammy Winning Artist Patrice Rushen, a young girl came up to me teary-eyed and said that she felt the same way. She felt like she wouldn’t be enough no matter how she tried, but when I sang the heartfelt lyrics about feeling ugly and similar sentiments, she could feel heard. She felt less alone and she said that if everybody felt ugly and insufficient then at least we all have something in common. That stuck with me and I use it as motivation for every song and every performance I do now. Reaching people and helping them process, helping them feel less alone is what I have to do for the rest of my life. This scholarship would provide me with the funding that I need to achieve my dreams and continue my mission of helping people heal through music.

Music has been everything to me. When I was thirteen I decided to pick up guitar, something that would change my life forever. Soon after, I joined the program "The School of Rock," in Michigan. On top of taking three weekly lessons there I became a part of two ensembles, that place quickly became my second home. I struggled throughout my life to have a sense of belonging and a community I felt apart of. I always felt lost or out place when searching for that, and it took a toll on me. The moment I joined School of Rock, I finally found it. It was a safe place for me that was full of smiles, laughter and lots of love! Everyone was unique and had their differences, as well their own struggles. However, no matter how different we were from each other, we all loved music with all of our heart. It was music that brought us together and made us a family. We would spend our days playing hours upon hours of music together, gigging all across Metro Detroit. When we weren't playing music, we were talking about it or watching it. We enjoyed and played anything from John Coltrane to Stevie Wonder to Led Zeppelin and more. As I progressed through The School of Rock, I decided I wanted to give back to the music community, because I was so grateful for what it gave me. When The School of Rock was going through financial hardships, I stepped up and volunteered to teach nine summer camps, two weekly private lessons, and two weekly youth programs. One with ages ranging three-to-seven and one with the ages ranging seven-to-thirteen. Teaching the kids the wonders of music and watching them grow and fall in love with it was one of the biggest joys in the world. It was such a gift getting to see these kids find their place in the music just as I did. I was fulfilling when parents came up to me saying things like, their kid has never been so passionate about anything before. Then kids would tell me that I was inspiring them and that their favorite time of the week is when they get to play music. My teachers turned mentors at the The School of Rock had a tremendous impact on me, leading me to where I am today. They inspired and showed me to how to become a better musician and person every day. To know that I was continuing their impact to my students is something I will always cherish. In 2022, The School of Rock sadly closed down due to the lack of funds to repair the weather damage on the historic building. Even with the physical school gone, the community and family it built stayed together. The values and lessons we learned from our mentors and each other will stick with us for a life time. As for my future, I plan on obtaining my degree from Wayne State University in Jazz Studies to become a professional musician. I also will continue to give back to the music community through volunteering, mentoring, and working with programs, such as "Music Will," to help underserved children have access to music education and instruments. Inspired by Frank Vail's story, I will continue to make it my mission to spread joy through music. While our times on earth are temporary, our impacts will last for an eternity.