Spotlight on the Vermont Youth Orchestra's 2024-2025 Senior Soloists:
For their 2024 - 2025 season, the Vermont Youth Orchestra presents a quartet (a 'Fab Four' if you will) of Senior Soloists, who will be highlighted at concerts in October and December 2024, and February and May 2025. Ahead of each concert, we'll be bringing you interviews with these talented young women. The third in our series features pianist Hailey Messier, who is in her final year at Essex High School. She'll play the opening movement of Edvard Grieg's a minor Piano Concerto in a brand new venue for the VYO, the Essex Experience in a concert appropriately titled, Screen Time. This February 2nd concert is sold out, but you can be added to the waitlist by emailing jen@vyo.org. For more information about the rest of the Vermont Youth Orchestra's season go to vyo.org.
TRANSCRIPT
HAILEY MESSIER: So having it at the movie theater is gonna be a really exciting opportunity: I hear they have the best piano in Vermont there, so that's gonna be exciting too...My name is Haley Messier, I go to Essex High School. I play the bassoon and the piano, and I've been in the VYOA for 8 years now.
HELEN LYONS: Hailey is the 3rd of the Vermont Youth Orchestra's senior soloists this season and will be performing the first movement of Edvard Grieg's Cinematic Piano Concerto as part of the orchestra's February 2nd concert, Screen Time at the Essex Experience. Now this concert is sold out, however, you can contact the VYO to be added to their waitlist by emailing Jen@vyo.org. Meanwhile, let's get to know Hailey. In addition to her skill as a pianist, Hailey is an excellent bassoon player, an instrument that she took up as a participant in the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association's Endangered Instrument Program. So Hailey, tell us, when did your musical training begin?
MESSIER: Well, I started playing the piano when I was 4 and a half. My mom is a singer. She definitely pushed the music stuff, but not in like a super pushy way or like forcing us into it. It was more just like, ‘Try this out,’ and then we started and we all liked it. So we kept going on and I've been doing it ever since.
LYONS: How did you decide upon Grieg's piano concerto for your senior solo?
MESSIER: So I was researching different, you know, concertos I could play, and I came across the Grieg, obviously super famous, and I started listening to it and in the beginning, it's the big powerful A minor chords and the cascading chords down and I was like, wait, I've heard this before. And then I remembered my mom always had VPR classical playing on the radio and this piece was used kind of a segue. I was transported back to the times in the car when we'd be driving to school and I'd be hearing it and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that is so cool. I want to play that someday and I wanna be able to play those chords and sound so cool like that.’ And so it felt kind of like a full circle moment, it just seems too perfect.
LYONS: What is it about this piece that inspires you?
MESSIER: Yeah, I love how it kind of just explores the full range of emotions, but you can feel obviously there's dramatic moments in the beginning, and then the cadenza where it's kind of more showy, but then there's softer and more tender moments in the middle with a really nice cello melody, which is honestly my favorite part. And I just get to sit there and listen. So that's great.
LYONS: How do you combat pre-performance nerves?
MESSIER: I mean, breathing is obviously one really good form of just trying to calm yourself down, but when I sit there at the piano, I just try to imagine myself just at my house and I'm just practicing. There's no one around.
LYONS: That's a good strategy! What are some of the things that you've learned in your study of music that you take into other parts of your life?
MESSIER: Yeah, definitely hard work, resilience, the, the practice is, is really instrumental, no pun intended to like forming a well-working person and Being able to be adaptable, obviously, and live music scenarios is key.
LYONS: What are your future plans, will you be continuing with music after high school?
MESSIER: I'm definitely gonna keep doing music in the future. I'm planning on applying as a nursing major, actually to schools around New England, but if it's possible to pursue a minor in music, I will. I'm also looking at schools that have really good orchestras because that's important to me to keep going on with that and other musical ensembles.
LYONS: What's your advice for a younger person just beginning their own musical journey?
MESSIER: Would it be horrible to say ‘fake it till you make it?’
LYONS: Not at all! Confidence is key.
MESSIER: And honestly struggling with imposter syndrome, especially as like a young kid in this big world of professional musicians is a very real thing and as I've been picking up more and more gigs recently with Some professionals been like I am so underqualified to do this and like, but as long as you like act the part and act like you know what you're doing and that you think that you're totally qualified for this, you'll show yourself that you actually are.
LYONS: Hailey Messier makes it to center stage this weekend when she'll perform the opening movement of Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto as part of the VYO's winter concert Screen Time at the Essex Experience Sunday, February 2. For more information on how to join the waitlist for this sold out performance, head to VYO.org or email jen@vyo.org.
