Student advocates to keep music education alive

Nicolette Mingles, a senior music education major at the University of Rhode Island, plans to share her music abilities by teaching and conducting.

Mingles, originally from East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, considered her future in music when she had the chance to go to the Massachusetts All-State Choir Festival. She said that when she saw the conductor leading the band, she was reassured that she wanted to pursue a career in music education. Mingles chose to attend URI because one of her high school music teachers, who was a URI alum, recommended the music program to her.

“I knew that music was one of the most important things to me and that I could do it for a long time and still enjoy it,” Mingles said.

Not only does she study and perform music at the university, but she also devotes most of her free time to music. Mingles and her friend, Ashley Frezza, have a YouTube channel where they sing covers of popular songs, while Mingles both sings and plays the piano. The duo covers songs including “Someone Like You” by Adele and “White Teeth Teens” by Lorde.

Mingles said that music is so important to her because it is an outlet of expression. She dabbles in songwriting, and had the chance to perform a song that she wrote for her friend’s wedding while she was in high school.

“I was never good at sports or anything, so I needed another way to express myself,” Mingles said. “It makes me feel accomplished when I sing.”

The two singers that give Mingles the most inspiration are the classical jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald and the popular indie artist Lorde. She said that she really enjoys Lorde’s style.

Mingles is also an advocate to keep music education courses in public high schools. She explained that as a music education major, she believes that it is important to keep fighting for the programs to continue in schools because students that don’t participate in extracurricular activities don’t get the “full experience of school.”

Once Mingles graduates, she said that she would like to start off working as a music teacher at a public high school. She also hopes to further her education and get a degree in choral conducting at some point in the future.

As a music education major, Mingles is required to showcase all of the elements she has worked on during her time at URI, featuring different types of music from multiple composers.

Mingles’ senior recital is set to take place on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 3 p.m. at the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall. Anybody is welcome to come to the performance and there is free admission. Mingles will be performing with three other musically inclined students including Frezza and two accompanying flute players, Stephanie Bramble and Amanda Rash.

Mingles’ work can be found on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbQw8QreGYZHOocaksQ_Xkw or by searching “Nicolette and Frezza.”