Generation ROC: 17-year-old musician shines bright on stages across Rochester

Yahoo

2 days ago

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A Jill of all trades and a master of more than one, 17-year-old Cora Flannery picks up one instrument, then another and another—going from piano to ukulele, guitar and trumpet, to singing and songwriting—all in pursuit of her greatest love: music.
'Everyone has a different way of expressing themselves, and I really find joy and peace, happiness (when) singing and writing music,' Cora explains to News 8's Mikhaela Singleton.
Cora says her passion started young, watching The Sound of Music as a child then writing her very first song at the age of nine.
'I remember I ran downstairs to show my mom, and she was like oh my gosh! Just so excited for me and (my parents) said well we have to get her into music classes,' Cora remembers.
'The song is called 'I Was a Fool'. I didn't even spell 'dumb' write in the lyrics—that's how young I was,' she reminisces while flipping through her songbook which now holds more than 60 of her creations.
Emblazoned on the cover to 'dream big', Cora shares she looks at the front of her songbook for inspiration and jots down any feeling she has that inspires her. Sometimes finding that inspiration in the most unusual of places.
'Voice memos are my savior, I use those a lot. I remember one time, there was some construction at my school and one of the big machines was backing up and I heard the 'beep, beep'. I recorded it on my phone, then went home and played it on the piano. It gave me this kinda spooky vibe and I just let myself freestyle,' she recalls.
Once her parents enrolled her in classes at ROC Star Academy, Cora started trying a little bit of everything, including recording and stagework. The founder of the academy, world-renowned Daughtry bandmember Elvio Fernandes, and his talented staff of instructors encouraged Cora to branch out from going solo.
'Being in a band has kind of broken me out a little bit, and I was always really shy performing solo. After performing with a band behind you, it's a lot less pressure. Kind of loosening up. I've then loosened up when performing solo,' she explains. 'I also used to be very stubborn about my songs—like I wrote it this way, it has to stay this way—but I listened to their suggestions and ended up loving it.'
Joining two performance bands through ROC Star Academy—Theory of Everything and Controversy—Cora took to the stage enthusiastically with her bandmates performing at Lilac Fest and several local events. Her blossoming confidence led her to open mic nights and her name began to spread through the music scene.
It was ultimately a conversation in a grocery store between one of the open mic organizers and a local pro band performer that kickstarted Cora to be scouted for It's My Party—a 60's cover band that's been entertaining the Rochester community for more than 40 years.
'It's like the best feeling ever to be introduced to new artists because of something that I myself have achieved and allows me to work with other people,' Cora says.
True to form, she's adding even more to her repertoire by forming a professional duo with a friend titled Cora and Liam, and performing some of Cora's original songs. She says she hopes to continue entertaining anyone who will love her music.
'I know music has a really big impact on people. Music has helped me through so many hard situations. I want people to have that uplifting feeling just by listening to one of my songs. That would really just complete my life,' she concludes.
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