Where The Art Is by Maryann Collela
I used to have a little music
box with an angel inside that played the song "guiding light." There was even a little light shining from
behind the angel, and as a kid I would wind the box over and over again so it
would keep playing. I never got tired of that song.
At one of
the choir performances last year, senior C'lesa Lyons
got up and sang a solo part of "guiding light" and just then I
realized that, like my music box, I could never get tired of hearing her sing.
She is one
of the few people who can be at a restaurant and make "Happy
Birthday" sound as beautiful as some soulful church hymn. Because like the
angel in that music box, C'lesa has some sort of
light shining from her, and that light is her music.
When asked
how many hours a week she spends singing, this month's featured artist giggled
a bit, because a better question would be, "How many hours a week do you
not spend singing?" Whether she is humming in class, singing at the top of
her lungs to the radio, or training in private voice lessons, it is evident
that music runs through the veins of senior C'lesa
Lyons and seeps through her pores shining on everyone who hears her.
As I
interview her in the local coffee shop where we both work, we make a joke about
how Kost 103.5 is on the radio. (her
favorite station is Star 98.7) Yet throughout the interview, I catch her
singing with the radio under her breath. C'lesa is of
a rare breed who can just hear and sing the harmonies
to songs she's never even heard before.
"I
guess I started singing before I can remember. My parents tell me I used to sit
in front of the TV and sing theme songs from shows and com
mercials,"
recalls C'lesa. She also has fond memo ries of driving in the car with her dad when she was
very
little, and harmonizing with the radio, or just singing church songs.
In high
school, C'lesa has been in the advanced chamber choir
since her freshman year she is currently the Chamber President, and the section
leader for the altos. Just recently, C'lesa
auditioned for a scholarship at The Voice Studio in
In the
fall, C'lesa plans on attending Pepperdine
and majoring in music. She is currently training for her college auditions,
with the help of Mr. Fritzen, who directs both choirs
here at ESHS. "C'lesa is different," says
Mr. Fritzen, "because she really puts all of her
heart and soul into whatever she sings. She's willing to give every piece of
herself to the audience, and the audience is really taken by that."
C'lesa is very excited to be auditioning with Mr. Fritzen in the spring for the ESHS musical production of
Gypsy. She regrets not auditioning for last year's production of Bye Bye Birdie, because it conflicted with her track schedule.
But she has done a lot of thinking and she's finally made the difficult
decision to not run track this year. "I enjoyed track, but I knew it
wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. Now I know that I want to do music.
It's not important to me to make a lot of money as long as I know that music
would be a part of my life everyday."
No matter
where C'lesa goes in life, there is no doubt that
music will be a big part of her life, because music is inside of her. C'lesa will definitely go somewhere because her voice is
not easily forgettable; it has a timeless beauty that could be captured in a
music box. Those who know her say that her love for music shines from her. And
as she inspires those in her choir, it is evident that this light is feverishly
catching.