Studio owner lets kids take center stage

By Denise Dick

Studio owner lets pupils take center stage

BOARDMAN — Their repertoire ranges from Disney to gospel, patriotic to classic rock.

Market Street Elementary School pupils Hayden Taylor, Katelyn Snyder, Jacqueline Cammarata, all 10, and Kaia Anderson, 8, belted out their best this week at Kontinuous Jams Music, which offers a recording studio.

The studio, owned by Mike Moritz, donated one hour of recording time to a PTA function. Dean Wilson, the school’s music teacher, won it and gave the hour to the four kids.

“This is an educational experience for them,” Wilson said.

He picked fourth-graders Hayden, Katelyn and Jacqueline and second-grader Kaia based on their interest in and talent for music.

Katelyn and Jacqueline each sang “America My Home,” a patriotic number they performed in their school’s Veterans Day program.

“It was a little difficult for me because it has a lot of high notes,” Katelyn said. “The high notes are difficult for me. I’m better at the lower notes.”

Her friends, teachers and family in the studio didn’t seem to notice. They erupted in applause when Katelyn finished her piece and emerged from the sound booth.

She worked on the song some at school but mostly at home — in front of her mirror.

Jacqueline acknowledged some nervousness when she entered the booth.

“It was a little scary,” she said. “My legs were shaking.”

Overall, though, Jacqueline was happy with her performance.

“I’m going to give [copies of the recording] to my parents and grandparents, and I’m going to keep if for the rest of my life,” she said.

Kaia performed a gospel version of “This Little Light of Mine,” and her mother, Dawn, says Kaia is a regular feature in the children’s choir at Jerusalem Baptist Church, Youngstown.

Kaia began singing when she was just a toddler, following in the footsteps of her mother and father, the Rev. Mr. Derrick H. Anderson, the church’s pastor.

Kaia said she worked on the song for a couple of weeks before the recording.

“I was scared at first,” she said. “That’s why I messed up, but then I got it.”

The youngest member of the Market Street musicians gave her own ad lib to the latter portion of the song.

Hayden chose to showcase his musical talents on the guitar, strumming the rock classic, “Sunshine of Your Love,” on his six-string.

He was pleased with his rendition.

“I’ve been playing for about a year,” Hayden said.

The Cream tune was one of the first songs he learned on guitar.

After their official songs, the three girls used the remainder of the hour to record some of their favorite tunes.

Katelyn hit the high notes in Taylor Swift’s hit, “Love Story,” while Kaia and Jacqueline chose selections from the Disney preteen smash, “High School Musical.”

The afternoon concluded with the trio melding voices in a giddy version of the movie’s “What I’ve Been Looking For.”

denise_dick@vindy.com