Amelia DePiero was in Grade 4 when her French teacher, struck by her beautiful voice, asked her to perform in a Christmas concert. It was a solo. In French.
It was also the first time DePiero took centre stage, but definitely not the last.
With support from her family and music teachers, she has developed her voice into a wonderful instrument.
While she was still in elementary school, DePiero’s parents signed her up for voice and piano lessons with local teacher, Heather Faris. Amelia studied, sang, and performed at local churches and in competitions.
The turning point — when she realized singing was going to be her career — came in Grade 8. That is when she decided she would go to an arts high school, leaving behind all her friends.
It was a big leap. She went from being a talented student in a school with a total enrolment of about 250, to being one of 500 Grade 9 students at Huron Heights Secondary School in Newmarket, pursuing the arts.
“I learned a lot” from teachers and the performance environment, she said.
She took a double major in drama and music, and she auditioned for musical roles with Marquee Theatre in Aurora.
Her first lead was in Hairspray, in which she played the lead, Tracy Turnblad.
“Still my favourite role,” she said.
DePiero is set to perform a show of Broadway hits — including two songs from Hairspray — at the Bradford Arts Centre on May 26.
Over the years, DePiero was encouraged to participate in voice competitions, including ones sponsored by the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association.
Amelia never doubted she would pursue her music.
She attended the University of Toronto to study the classics and opera, and she appreciated the approach there — students are not permitted to take classes in opera until their third year, to protect their voices and ensure they develop proper technique.
DePiero has just completed her first year in music, studying under soprano Elizabeth McDonald, but also working with accompanists and coaches who “know a lot about how the voice works, and breath,” she said.
In each hour-long lesson with McDonald, De Piero said she studies technique — arpeggios, warm ups, scales — then goes through her repertoire with an accompanist.
“You go so in-depth. You spend so much time going through the technique,” she said.
There are master classes, studio classes where students from all years come together to perform, and recitals by third- and fourth-year students.
“In my first year, I see opera singers perform. I see second year — what’s ahead,” De Piero said. “You kind of see how they grow every year.”
DePiero said it has been challenging at times — living far from home, developing the discipline to meet the requirements of her studies — but she has enjoyed the experience, from studying with professionals, to watching classmates perform during jazz nights at The Rex Hotel, Jazz & Blues Bar.
And the impact has been dramatic.
DePiero sang during the Bradford Arts Centre’s inaugural season last year and impressed her audiences, but when she returned this April as one of the performers in a concert featuring music written for and about women, she said her voice was richer, stronger, more controlled and “more professional.”
De Piero recently completed her first final exam, or jury. She had to prepare 40 minutes of music and appear before a panel comprised of the head of the Faculty of Music, and the French Master Class teacher. The panel asked her to sing 20 minutes of her repertoire.
“I was really nervous the week before,” said DePiero.
That day, she said she got up at 6 a.m. to prepare — five hours early.
While getting “into the zone,” she suddenly realized, “Amelia, you’re going to sing, which is what you love to do, so there’s nothing to be nervous about… I’m doing what I love to do.”
That realization freed her from her anxiety, “and I really did enjoy it. They picked my favourite songs. I don’t think I could have had a better jury.”
Her family has always been supportive, if a little bemused by her talent.
Is it a musical family? “Absolutely not,” said dad Frank, although “my mom’s first cousin in Michigan used to sing in the opera.”
Moving from high school and private lessons, to the music department at the University of Toronto “was really a mind-opening experience,” DePiero said, thanking her many supporters, including the Bradford Arts Centre for its support of emerging artists.
For other young singers looking to start a career in music, she said they should make the extra effort to study piano and theory, stick to their studies — but most importantly, “go with your heart.”
Amelia DePiero concert
Bradford Arts Centre
7 p.m.
$20 tickets at the door
A night of Broadway hits.
