Feel the beat; one NIC student’s musical journey

Some people spend their whole lives trying to find their passion, and some people know from a young age what they want to do. For Ashley Costa, an 18-year-old student at NIC, she said music was always her passion.

“She always sang randomly, just whenever she was outside, or when she was in her room, or wherever she was, she would just always start singing,” said Gail Costa, Ashley’s mom. “Music was the one thing she really enjoyed.”

Ashley Costa began fueling her passion for music by participating in children’s choirs through her school and church at 4 years old.

“It just always came natural for me,” Ashley Costa said, “and it’s also really fun.”

When Ashley Costa was 11 years old, she said she attended a concert that sparked her interest to pursue music as a career, whether that be teaching, performing or both. She began taking voice lessons in elementary school, and joined her youth group band as a vocalist in middle school.

Throughout middle and high school, Ashley Costa became more involved in choir by auditioning for solo performances. In eighth grade she sang the national anthem for her class’s graduation, which became the first of many national anthem performances for Ashley Costa.

“They always asked her to sing the national anthem,” Gail Costa said. “They got to know her as the national anthem girl.”

Ashley Costa performed the national anthem for several of her school’s sporting events, as well as at the Rancho Cucamonga Epicenter Stadium in California and the California State Parent Teacher Association conference.

After moving to Idaho in 2020, Ashley Costa enrolled in the music program at NIC, working toward an associate degree in music with plans to transfer to a four-year college. Ashley Costa is currently taking music theory and piano classes at NIC, and said she would like to take one-on-one voice lessons in the future. 

While her favorite genre of music is pop, Ashley Costa said classes at NIC taught her to be more adaptive to other music genres. She is also part of two NIC ensembles, Chamber Singers and Cardinal Voices. In Cardinal Voices, students choose songs to bring to class and then teach and direct the music to the rest of the group.

Ashley Costa, center front, sings with Cardinal Voices on March 1 for the group’s first recording. There will be two virtual showcases on Sunday, May 9 at 4 p.m. PST, and Wednesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. featuring the Chamber Singers. The link can be found on the North Idaho College Music Department Facebook page.

“It’s been really interesting to see peoples’ outside perspectives and the way they lead in the way they teach music,” Ashley Costa said. “We learn to add things to the songs that make it our own style and uniqueness, and that’s always been kind of my forte.”

Ashley Costa said that Max Mendez, one of her music theory teachers and the director for Chamber Singers and Cardinal Voices, has stood out to her as a professor at NIC because he always challenges her to work harder and improve her musical abilities.

“I think that’s really cool because I’ve never had a teacher like that who really pushes you and challenges you to learn new things and not be so limited to what you think you can do,” Ashley Costa said. “Learning that you’re able to do a lot of things, you can just work harder at it.”

Ashley Costa said Mendez tells his students that if they feel like he’s pushing them or being too hard on them, it’s because he says he knows they have more to offer.

“Ashley is incredibly talented and determined,” Mendez said. “She puts in the work necessary to become a musician.”

The path for a musician can be difficult but Gail Costa said Ashley is determined and has learned a lot by talking to people with experience in the music industry.“You have to be at the right place, you have to know the right people, and it can be quite difficult,” Gail Costa said, “but she still has that dream that one day she’ll get to record a song because she’s always talked about that for years.”

Ashley Costa said her biggest accomplishment was winning first place in the Hayden’s Got Talent competition in July 2020 with her rendition of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All.” 

As she continues her studies at NIC, Ashley Costa continues to find opportunities to perform. When she learned that NIC uses a recording of the national anthem at sporting events, Ashley Costa contacted NIC athletics and asked if she could sing at the events. Ashley Costa will revisit the national anthem by singing at some NIC softball and soccer games, as well as at NIC’s 2021 commencement ceremony. 

“It doesn’t matter what language you speak or where you come from,” Ashley Costa said. “All of us kind of unite under music in that world. I always thought it was so cool how we can all come together and be a part of this thing that creates unity and joy and happiness.”