There’s a surplus of talented people on the Millikin campus and there are many opportunities to see them perform. At the beginning of the school year, Millipalooza showcased many artists including sophomore Music Business major Emily Martinez.

Martinez says that Millipalooza was her first time performing solo besides being a wedding singer for a bit in high school. She had this to say about performing at Millipalooza, “It was a lot of fun! I had a lot of support from my sisters of Pi Beta Phi as well as Sigma Alpha Iota and friends. It definitely helped calm my nerves and warmed my heart knowing I have a support system here. The experience of performing solo has really helped push me back into wanting to perform. As cliché as it sounds, I love the rush that performing gives me.”

Martinez advises that anyone with stage fright should just get out there because practice makes perfect and to just have fun on stage. She said, “You have to get comfortable about sharing your art with others. Sharing your art is something very personal, but you have to let your guard down and push nerves aside in order to show your audience your most authentic version of your performance. This is something I still work on every day!”

When asked what made Martinez get into music she said, “My mom told me that she knew I was going to love music before I was even born. She said when she was pregnant any time music played I used to kick. Growing up I always felt that I had a deep connection with music, specifically with singing. I think the feeling I have for music has remained just as strong as it’s always been, and it’s something that drives me to get deeper into the music.”

Martinez was involved in choir in high school her junior and senior year and said, “I was never involved with anything music related at school until my junior year of high school. In retrospect, I think it was so silly that there was a time I wasn’t involved in music. I always liked singing, but I didn’t have intentions of actually taking any steps to do anything with music because I didn’t foresee it as practical for myself. My choir director saw potential in me that I didn’t see in myself at the time. Being in a top ensemble is what I think set me over the edge to realize that there is so much more to music than notes on a page. Immersing myself so quickly in music in the second half of my high school career really helped guide me into the realization that this is what I want to study and do for the rest of my life.”

Martinez stated that she came to Millikin because of her high school choir director (who is a Millikin alum). Martinez said, “She (her high school director) always had great things to say about the school. I was intending to be a business major at the time, but then I saw that Millikin offered a music business program. I had a conversation with her about whether I should consider going to school for music and she encourage me to do so. I booked a college visit and auditioned for the School of Music and was accepted and fell in love with the school within one day.”

When asked about the music business program here at Millikin, Martinez said, “I think the best part of the program is that while you’re learning about the music industry and different aspects of the music business, you are also becoming a better musician yourself through being involved in various ensembles as well as solo lessons. I think that this is heavily enforced throughout the entire music program at Millikin. Whether or not your intention is trying to perform after college, you’ve been classically trained.” After Millikin, Martinez hopes to have a deeper understanding of music.