I had the pleasure of interviewing two of my favorite voice students, Hazel and Lola Kelley in Nederland, Colorado. We discussed their passion for singing and how they overcame many challenges during the pandemic.

Hazel and Lola are twin sisters (nicknamed Halo) in the seventh grade and attend Nederland Middle-Senior High School. They have been singing all their lives and found a love of musical theatre at an early age. The first musical they performed in was at age eight. They love singing musicals and pop songs.

They participated in the musical Prohibition last summer. Hazel liked the experience of meeting new people and Lola’s favorite part was the opportunity to perform on stage. Previous performances include Shrek the Musical, Willie Wonka Jr. and elementary and middle school productions. They performed in the online musical The Show Must Go Online last year at school. They are currently involved in choir and plan to try out for their school’s spring musical.

They are also on the volleyball team. They joined the team last year, but couldn’t play due to Covid restrictions. They take voice lessons once a week and practice their technique every day. They sing every opportunity they get. They also take dance lessons and would like to take acting lessons at some point. Their future aspirations would be to get a lead in the school play. They both would like to go to college and study voice and theatre.

When asked how the pandemic affected them, they answered they used to do lessons in-person but had to switch to remote lessons and have continued to take lessons over Zoom. One drawback is they have not been able to be in as many performances this past year. They could have given up on singing, but they chose to pursue their passion and overcome their obstacles. They took choir last year remotely and admitted that was difficult, but they were glad they could still participate. They have missed singing in front of an audience, so they sing to each other. Their mom and family have been very supportive and kept them in lessons.

They have continued learning throughout the pandemic through research online and have continued to make progress on their singing skills. They feel empowered that they persevered and overcame obstacles that could have discouraged them. Their inspiration to sing stems from singing together and listening to other singers. They enjoy acting out the characters in the songs and transporting themselves into a different world.

Lola expressed singing makes her feel like she is on a different planet and Lola feels like everything is perfect and she is in the clouds when she sings. Their mother, Rachel Kelley, commented that singing together is the girl’s favorite hobby and they start preparing for next week’s lesson as soon as their lesson is done.

They both plan to make singing and performing a lifelong pursuit. They love trying to improve by sharing constructive criticism with each other and recording themselves. They often burst into the same song at the exact same time and walk in the front door belting songs from musicals. They hope to see a Broadway show as soon as they get the chance.

We look forward to seeing Hazel and Lola Kelley in many more performances to come.