Carolena Albert is a freshman music and exercise science double major who just released her first EP on iTunes, titled “Everything In Between.” In addition to singing, she plays several instruments and composes.
It all started in my fifth grade chorus class. My music teacher gave me a solo, and it sparked something within me, leading me to believe that singing might be something I’m actually good at.
When I started middle school, I got into musical theater and also joined a performing arts studio, where I began vocal lessons. Before I knew it, music became my passion. Throughout middle school, I learned as much as I could, as quickly as I could, and nothing was going to stop me. I began to learn how the body works during singing, such as which muscles are required to breathe properly and how to execute a solid sound in the right way.
Once I developed my voice, I started to perform more and also picked up instruments to accompany me while singing. As soon as I started to learn piano by ear and taught myself basic chords, I started to write my own lyrics and melodies. After a while, I noticed that I had developed my own style, and I just kept writing as much music as I could, for as long as I was inspired.
In high school, I was in the chorus and also played some lead roles in school musicals, such as Fantine in “Les Miserables,” Belle in “Beauty and the Beast,” Little Red from “Into the Woods” and Kim in “Miss Saigon.” Although I enjoyed all of those roles, my main focus was still creating my own sound and learning as much as I could about my craft.
I eventually taught myself how to play guitar and messed around with the drums, and as I continued to write my own songs, I also performed at local malls, coffee shops, carnivals, the beach and pretty much anywhere I could. I started out doing covers of songs with karaoke tracks, but it eventually evolved into me playing with live music and making a lot of my own acoustic material. This is when I realized that stripped sound is really what grabs people’s attention.
Flashing forward to my senior year in high school, I began to lead retreats and put together the worship music for them, and during this time, I knew that no matter what, nothing would stop me from reaching my goals and staying humble in the process.
When applying to colleges, I knew what I was going to study, and I got extremely lucky when I received a music scholarship to attend NSU. I was excited to take on music theory and production and learn everything I could. I decided to also major in exercise science, because I believe that music and keeping the body healthy are definitely connected.
On Jan. 27, 2015, I released my first EP, which is a small album with some original songs, on iTunes and Spotify. The album is called “Everything in Between” and has a mixture of acoustic and pop/electronic music. It is fully mixed and mastered and is something I am proud to have accomplished after all of the hard work, patience and dedication that I put into all these years of doing music.
I breathe music; there is nothing I have ever been so passionate about, and I am sure that it is my calling. I just want my music to connect with people, and I can only hope that it gains more exposure as time passes.
Photo Credit: COURTESY OF C. ALBERT
