Nevontae‘s Story

Before ArtSmart, I thought music was all about materialism – you have to act the part and look the part. Since starting lessons almost a year ago with my ArtSmart mentor Tom Mulder, I now know that everyone can do music, and it’s a growth process. Tom brought music back to earth for me and taught me how to be grounded as a musician and as a person.

ArtSmart has really helped me with both music and my confidence. I’m more talkative and outgoing, and I’m not afraid to give advice or input. Because of music, I’m able to better understand what other teachers are asking me to do. I think I’m also more willing to listen to input from my teachers now, rather than just brushing their comments off and saying I’ll do it my own way. I don’t have a keen sense of mind when it comes to global history, especially dates, but when I told this to Tom he gave me the advice to switch in lyrics with sates to help me remember them.

I remember my first lesson with Tom, we got to work right away. The first technique we worked on was breath support, and how to use the diaphragm to project while making sure that I am breathing properly. Throughout the school year we worked on the things that I had trouble with the most and the most memorable moment for me was hitting a high A Flat in one of my last lessons. At first it was such a struggle for me, but now I can hit A Flat all the time. Tom helped push me to achieve that.

Tom and I had a lot in common to begin with, and our relationship has definitely grown over time. I’ve had over 20 ArtSmart lessons and throughout our lessons we develop more trust in each other. It means a lot that my mentor cares about me as a person and even when I have off days, he’s always there to support me. He can see when I need a break or just need to talk, and that’s important to me.

It’s so important for people my age to have a mentor. It makes it easy to find a common connection. Just to have a stable support system that’s there anytime I need – it’s priceless.

When I finish high school I definitely plan on going to college – I’d like to get a Major in Marine Biology and a Minor in Music. At this point music’s not going anywhere from my life.