From the moment Melody Cook stepped to center stage Sunday at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts, she transformed from a UCF student into a conductor of a 9-person orchestra debuting her original composition in front of an theater audience.
The fact that the 41 year old decided to pursue a degree in music performance and a career as a piano teacher is not all that out of the ordinary. She 麻豆精品 S檚 had the urge to play ever since she was a toddler who used to reach up to plunk on the keys of her mother 麻豆精品 S檚 piano in their Tennessee home.
What is unexpected about Cook 麻豆精品 S檚 story is that for the first three decades of her life, she had no exposure to most music genres and artists 麻豆精品 S� from The Beatles to Duke Ellington to Dolly Parton to Metallica and nearly everything in between.
And then college happened.
麻豆精品 S淲hen I started going to college, I was a very shy, withdrawn, anxious person. I had almost no confidence. My professors [at Valencia and UCF] believed in me. They helped me to learn to believe in myself, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淲hen I think back in a few years from now, I 麻豆精品 S檓 going to be really grateful that I had this experience. 麻豆精品 S�
Raised on Hymns and Classical Music
As the second oldest of six children, Cook says she had an ultraconservative upbringing and says the homeschool program her family subscribed to was very restrictive. Cook 麻豆精品 S� who learned from her mother how to play the piano 麻豆精品 S� was allowed to listen to hymns or classical music, but anything with a bassline was off limits.
麻豆精品 S淚f you couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 listen to Christian music that has a drum, then you definitely were not going to be able to listen to most stuff, 麻豆精品 S� she says.
麻豆精品 S淚f you couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 listen to Christian music that has a drum, then you definitely were not going to be able to listen to most stuff. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Melody Cook
She didn 麻豆精品 S檛 think early on that college was an option because, like her limited exposure to music, she was taught college was a place of destructive and damaging influences. Instead, she spent most of her 20s doing mission work in Moscow and Siberia before moving to Orlando in 2012.
She was making minimum wage in a kitchen, hardly clocking enough hours to support herself, when the realization hit her 麻豆精品 S� she did not want to live the rest of her life this way.
麻豆精品 S淚 knew that [restrictive] lifestyle wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 what I wanted and what I believed anymore. If I was going to pursue something that I really loved, then I felt I should get an education, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淪o I thought, what would I do if I could do anything? 麻豆精品 S�
The answer: art or music.
She enrolled at Valencia College with the goal of transferring to UCF through the program and cried with joy when Valencia Professor Alan Gerber told her she had what it took to pursue music. To her, those tears were proof she had pinpointed her passion and future path.
As a result, her world has opened up exponentially.
An Introduction to Bon Jovi and Black Sabbath
Cook says she had a steep learning curve to try to catch up to her classmates. She took a jazz theory class at UCF and spent hours listening to WUCF 89.9 FM on car rides to train her ear to the new sounds.
She is enrolled in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 analysis of hard rock and heavy metal course. She never knew M枚tley Cr眉e existed until a couple months ago. She says Black Sabbath is a little intense. She heard Bon Jovi 麻豆精品 S檚 Livin 麻豆精品 S� on a Prayer for the first time when her class discussed glam rock.
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麻豆精品 S淚 love that I 麻豆精品 S檓 getting to listen to it myself and make my own opinion on which ones I like and which ones I don 麻豆精品 S檛 like. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Melody Cook
She says she doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 have any particular favorites. Because there 麻豆精品 S檚 so much she hasn 麻豆精品 S檛 heard, she tries to listen to something new every day.
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UCF Assistant Professor Alexander Burtzos, her current composition instructor, describes Cook as an ideal student. He says we all grow up in our own musical bubble to some extent, and all that really matters is whether we have the determination to break out of it.
麻豆精品 S淢elody is a voracious listener who 麻豆精品 S檚 equally open to Renaissance polyphony, 20th century dodecaphony, speed metal 麻豆精品 S� and everything in between. She quickly absorbs each new piece she hears, eventually incorporating it into her own singular musical language, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淢elody is interested in pushing boundaries. Her pieces are often built around strong central ideas. I have no idea what the future holds for her. But whatever it is, I know she 麻豆精品 S檒l be successful at it. 麻豆精品 S�
Learning Through Loss
In the immediate future, at least, she will have her senior recital April 21 when she will lead a performance of a compilation of her work, and she expects to graduate with honors in May.
Her recital will include the composition Loss, which she debuted and conducted at UCF Celebrates the Arts on April 7.
She first composed Loss as a way to grieve the death of her grandmother, the last of her surviving grandparents. She was unable to attend the funerals of her other three grandparents, but she made it to this one and wrote the piece as a tribute to all four of them.
She continued to tinker with the piece 麻豆精品 S� which does feature a drum kit 麻豆精品 S� before she really got serious about polishing it after the opportunity arose to contribute something for the New Music Ensemble concert at UCF Celebrates the Arts.
Burtzos says Loss is composed in a style that is quite different from Cook 麻豆精品 S檚 usual aesthetic 麻豆精品 S� it’s tonal, sorrowful, melodious, and to his ears, seems grounded in the folk music of Russia and Eastern Europe. He says he admires her ability and willingness to embrace different sounds and styles in her music.
As for Cook, she is pleased with the way the piece turned out and the journey it took to get it there. At one point, she had composed it in her head for a full orchestra, even though she had never experienced an orchestral performance. Knowing what she knows now from her studies, she says the balance would have been completely off and it would have sounded horrible.
“This is a chance for me to honor and remember my grandparents and to express those feelings that I have a hard time expressing. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Melody Cook
Ultimately, she is most pleased because she feels that the ones she wrote it for would appreciate her work.
麻豆精品 S淚 think they would really like the piece. This is a chance for me to honor and remember my grandparents and to express those feelings that I have a hard time expressing, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淎ll of my grandparents were very artistic and creative and really valued creativity and art. My mother 麻豆精品 S檚 parents met in an art school. I think they would be really proud of me and pleased that I 麻豆精品 S檓 studying the arts and doing something with it. 麻豆精品 S�
After she graduates, Cook wants to continue to teach piano lessons, develop her music studio and write music she can share with the world. And now that college has opened the door to so many new experiences, she never wants to stop pursuing new challenges and opportunities for personal growth.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e learned a lot about music, a lot about culture and society. In every area of life I feel like I 麻豆精品 S檝e really grown a lot, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淭here 麻豆精品 S檚 no way that I could have done that without having come here. It wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 have happened. 麻豆精品 S�
