Some of Towne Lake’s high school students were greeted by a familiar face last Thursday as Danielle Bradbery, country music recording artist and former Cy-Ranch student, took the school's stage for Disney’s Music In Our Schools tour.
Before becoming the youngest contestant to win The Voice last year, Bradbery was a shy high school student with a love for music, but without professional experience.
“The Voice was kind of a boot camp for me,” said Bradbery. “It taught everyone including me to be prepared for the outside music world. It prepared you to be in front of people like this and how to speak and sing into a microphone.”
And while The Voice helped refine her natural talent, it gave her something even more valuable -- courage.
“I was terrified, even walking through these halls,” she said. “But I became a lot more confident in myself every time I stepped on stage.”
The Music In Our Schools tour provided a $2,000 donation to Cy-Ranch’s fine arts program in addition to Bradbery’s performance of two songs from her self-titled debut album, including her most famous single, “The Heart of Dixie.” The Cy-Ranch choir opened the show, giving Bradbery’s former classmates an opportunity to share the stage with a professional and experience a more personal side of the music business.
“I was impressed by her story,” said Cy-Ranch band student Alex Dasilva. “Music is the way I like to express myself and relax. It helps relieve my stress with school and all my problems.”
The monetary donation helps fuel a department proven to increase academic excellence and positive involvement in student’s lives. But even more important is giving students the opportunity express themselves through a creative outlet.
Even students like Danielle Bradbery.
“Music has been a big part of my life. I feel like everyone has something that’s part of them. Music was mine. It definitely taught me things I’d never known about myself.”
