Performing isn’t for everyone, but it’s definitely for 14-year-old Keala Morazain.
This young singer from Lake Country already has a number of performances and competitions under her belt, but she’s already looking toward the future.
The talented singer, now backed by a full band, is taking her first full-set song list to Live! in Lake Country on Aug. 10 at Swalwell Park.
Typically, Morazain performs solo, but she said she enjoys the extra support — which also includes her mother, Amanda, on piano.
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“I feel like with a band, if you mess up, everyone is there to back you up,” she said.
“But, if you’re solo and you mess up, you have to bring yourself up.”
Singing came natural to Morazain. After all, her mother is a vocal instructor.
Morazain started at a young age and fell in love with the craft.
“I started performing in recitals when I was three-ish,” she said.
She wore a princess dress and tiara for her debut performance, her mother chimes in.
By age seven, she was singing in front of more than 800 people at shows put on by Wentworth Music — Amanda’s teaching base.
Morazain said despite her experience, she is not immune to stage fright.
“It’s still nerve wracking,” she said.
“But once you get up there, my mind goes blank and I just do it and it feels great.”
If she stumbles at all during a performance, she said she just “puts the past in the past.”
Amanda said it’s amazing to see her daughter perform onstage with such confidence and poise.
“It’s been such a pleasure watching her grow up,” she said.
“One of the most beautiful things about her is she is constantly putting herself out there.”
When she’s not on stage, Morazain also works at week-long camps with young performers at the Rotary Centre of the Arts.
There, she teaches children songs, dance, art and drama and readies them for their end-of-camp recital.
“At the very end, we do a really big show and they showcase all the skills they learned,” said the teenager.
The George Elliot Secondary School student also enjoys playing volleyball, softball and listening to music in her spare time.
But her main goal, she says, is to make it big in the music world.
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@caitleerach
Caitlin.clow@kelownacapnews.com
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