Write a commentDecember 23, 2024 will be forever etched in young Nora Kelly's memories, and not because it was the first day of Christmas vacation.
Nora, an eleven year old sixth grader at Minetto Elementary School, will remember it as the day the recording of her first original song was released to the public.
"Nora Kelly's original song, 'Moonlight' is available on all music platforms as of 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday," said Gina Holsopple, owner and teacher at Gina Marie's Music Studio in Oswego where Nora is a student. A release party was held at the Studio to celebrate the event.
" 'Moonlight' can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and just about every other music platform," Holsopple said.
We asked Nora about her inspiration for 'Moonlight.' "I was outside picking dandelions one summer day, and the lyrics just came into my mind," she told us. "Next thing I knew, I had a melody in my head, and I started singing them together."
Nora's parents, siblings and grandparents were at the release party, along with a dozen or so friends and fellow musicians. Kristen Kelly, Nora's mother, said, "She came running into the house and said, 'I've got a song, and I have to write it down!'"
Nora has been taking music lessons at Gina Marie's Music Studio for six years. "I sing, and I play the violin, ukulele and the cello," she said, "and I play some piano, too."
Nora, who has been playing in a band called Starting On Fire with some of her fellow students since last summer, told us she really enjoyed the process of recording her music. "I had never been in a studio before," she said.
Holsopple said the song was recorded at Hobin Studios in Baldwinsville. "Bret Hobin, who runs the studio, is great," she said. "I've worked with him on all of my albums, and he is very intuitive and knows how to bring out the best in a musician."
Nora told us, "I sang the melody for Bret, and he started playing it on the bass. Gina also played along on guitar until we had the whole thing worked out."
The musicians laid down the instrumental tracks first, then Nora began to add in vocals. "I really liked being in the booth," she said. "It was dark, and I had these big headphones on, and I was just dancing and singing!"
Another thing she noticed while recording were the graphic monitor screens that were tracking the various musical inputs. "It was cool - it looked a lot like green Slime dripping and flowing on the screens."
"Nora was in the studio for about five hours overall. All the vocals on this track are her, including the harmonies," Gina Holsopple said. "We brought in Liz Strodel to lay down the drum tracks, and added them in afterwards."
Nora recalled when Gina told her the song was ready for release. "She said, 'I have a final product,' and brought me into the room." She continued, "She put it on like always and I was right there, and I was like, 'It's finally out.' She's like, 'Yes, it is,' then the speaker started up and we started listening to it, and I was like, 'What??!!'"
Now that she's gotten a taste for songwriting and recording, Nora said she has been busy. "I have parts of several new songs already, but no complete ones yet," she said. "I'd like to have enough songs to make an album in about a year and a half."
These are big plans for someone who hasn't reached their twelfth birthday yet, but as Nora says, "Justin Bieber wrote his first song when he was eleven too!"
Gina Holsopple, Nora's proud mentor, said, "The best thing you can do for a musician is to listen to their songs. Ask others to listen, too. That's how new music gets heard."
We wish Nora Kelly all the best upon the release of her debut single, "Moonlight." QR Codes with links to the song on Apple Music and Spotify appear within this article.
