Westernra
opens her heart on email
The
making of a superstar
The
scene is a performance of a primary school Christmas
play. The expectation from adoring parents is for the
children to sing flat, fluff their lines and may be
trip over the scenery. Everybody expects a few laughs;
no one expects brilliance.
It
was at just such a show that New Zealanders Jill and
Gerald Westenra first witnessed their daughter Hayley's
extraordinary talent.
"Her
school put on a show called The Littlest Star,"
Jill says. "Hayley was just six and all she'd said
to me was 'Mummy, I need my ballet gear'. So we went
along and found that in fact she was the star of the
show, the littlest star."
A
teacher approached Jill after the performance and told
her that Hayley was pitch-perfect and suggested that
she take up a musical instrument to encourage her talents.
So
Hayley began violin lessons.
It
was the beginning of a relationship with music that's
been the driving force in her life ever since.
In
stark contrast to most children, who have to be forced
to practise, Hayley took every opportunity to perfect
her talents - quickly adding piano and recorder tuition
to her violin lessons, and learning to read music by
the age of seven. It was also around this time that
her passion for musical theatre began to take shape.
By
the age of 11, Hayley had appeared in more than 40 stage
productions, sung on TV shows and performed in major
concerts.
In
2000 she recorded a demo album, mainly as what she called
a "memento". This personal souvenir - just
1,000 copies were pressed - unlocked the key to her
future.
On
the day the recording of the CD was completed, Hayley
and her younger sister Sophie (both vocalists, violinists
and pianists while younger brother Isaac plays the flute),
busked in their home town, Christchurch. The pair quickly
drew an enthusiastic crowd.
The
young busker's fan was a journalist with a local television
station and Hayley soon appeared on air.
The
appearance captured the attention of a leading New Zealand
concert promoter Gray Bartlett, and a deal with Universal
Music New Zealand soon followed.
Hayley's
self-titled debut recording featured an eclectic mix
of show music and classical pieces; it went straight
in at number one in the pop charts, turned triple platinum
and made Hayley the fastest-selling local artist in
New Zealand's history.
After
hearing her sing, New Zealand opera legend Dame Malvina
Major offered to give Hayley lessons.
She
says of Hayley's voice, "It's absolutely musically
true.
"A
lot of young singers have beautiful voices but they
have to be guided into that sort of clarity. She has
it naturally."
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