A Dynamic Due: Two NIC Students Share their Love for Music

Music can mean so many things to people. It relaxes the mind and engages emotion. It promotes healthy brain activity and helps clear up anxiety and depression. For NIC students Kailey Martinelli and Hailey Levasseur, music is a way to express themselves and explore the creative world.

On Jan. 16, the two teenagers took their talent to a whole new level when they received second place in the Northwest Division of the 2019-2020 Performance Competition for Piano Music, organized by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA).

Martinelli and Levasseur said they bonded over the past two years through their love for the piano and hours of practicing duets. Both students worked under the instruction of Dwayne Huff, Assistant Professor of Music at NIC.

Kailey Martinelli, right, competed in North Idaho’s Got Talent in August 2018. “It was such an amazing opportunity to shape my skills with the helpful feedback from the judges and fellow contestants,” Martinelli said. The show had three rounds and Martinelli placed in the top 11 in the final round elimination. The 18-year-old currently plays piano at her church and said she would love to become a piano and voice teacher as well as record music and be an accompanist. Photo by Kai Eagley

“I sensed immediately that they worked extremely well together,” Huff said. “They really do have a sixth sense about collaborating with each other.”

Huff suggested the MTNA competition to the girls in August 2019, and they started practicing for months studying the music.

“Dr. Huff and our parents were so supportive, which was an absolute blessing,” Martinelli said. “We couldn’t have done it without Dr. Huff’s encouragement and instruction, and our parents’ support and encouragement.”

The MTNA was the first time that the friends competed together as a duo.

“There were definitely challenging times,” Huff said. “But both Kailey and Hailey enjoy challenges and really thrive when a lot is asked of them.”

For the competition, the duo worked on three pieces including two numbers of the “Slavonic Dances” by Antonin Dvorak and four movements of the “Petite Suite” by Claude Debussy. The “Slavonic Dances” were originally written for orchestras but were arranged into versions that could be played on the piano with four hands.

Kailey Martinelli, left, and Hailey Levasseur, right, perform Antonin Dvorak’s “Slavonic Dance No. 9” in the Schuler Performing Arts Center at NIC during the Cardinal Chamber Orchestra Concert on April 25, 2019. Photo courtesy of Bonnie Martinelli

“I thought the MTNA competition was a neat opportunity that might cause other opportunities to arise later on,” Martinelli said. “The best part was that it was an excuse to practice a lot with my best friend.”

On Nov. 30, Martinelli, Levasseur and Huff spent hours recording pieces for the video submission for MTNA. Huff used his computer to record the video along with a microphone he put inside the piano.

“Even though we were putting in a lot of work, I didn’t think we’d actually get very far in the competition,” Levasseur said. “I didn’t expect to place so high, especially in my first music competition, so it was a huge encouragement to me.”

Both students said they have been playing piano for over a decade. Martinelli said she was inspired to take on the piano after watching her grandpa play for her when she was a child.

“Every time he would let me play his piano, he would emphasize that it was not a toy, and he would always ask me if I had washed my hands,”Martinelli said. “My dream has always been to be as amazing on the piano as he is.”

Martinelli said that playing the piano requires a lot of practice and both girls take that principle seriously. Martinelli practices the piano for about three hours a day. She said the hardest part about playing the piano is getting over the learning curve of each piece.

“Sometimes feeling stuck can make it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Martinelli said. “But the end result, after hours and maybe even days of practicing, is what makes it all worth it.”

Kailey Martinelli, left, and Hailey Levasseur, right, perform at the Cardinal String Trio & Friends: Autumn Strings on Dec. 5, 2019. Photo courtesy of Kailey Martinelli

Levasseur said that when she and Martinelli work together they balance out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. She also said that music gives her an outlet for creativity.

“I love music because it’s a way that I can express myself without having to talk,” Levasseur said. “Music is almost like a different language. There’s something so amazing about being able to sit down and make music that shows exactly how you feel.”

At 16 years old, Levasseur runs her own business as a private piano teacher, an undertaking she began two years ago.

“The best part about teaching for me is watching the kids grow musically and get excited about what they’re learning,” Levasseur said. “Their personalities are all very different, so I have to find ways to make the lesson specific for each one.”

Levasseur said she is unsure if she will attend a university after completing her music education at NIC in the spring of 2021.

“I would like to because it would develop me musically, but I don’t want to move away,” Levasseur said. “This is my home.”

Both girls plan to keep recording their duets and said they would love to open studios and release their own music.

“There are so many other opportunities out there for a musician that I would gladly consider,” Martinelli said. “I look forward to seeing what new opportunities come for my career in music in the future.”