Timpview Student Neveah Receives Acclaim for Selfmade Albums

October 20th, 2022 /
Spencer Tuinei /
News, Public Relations, Schools, Secondary Schools, Timpview High

Innovation often stems from the inopportune. Innovators know breaking and bending leads to reforging; potters recast lacquerware stronger than before, start-ups are born from failing business models, and musicians transform restrictions and shortcomings into distinct strengths.

Obstacles spell the beginning of Timpview High student Neveah Valdizan’s musical career. Neveah dreamed of telling her story through music at thirteen years old, but she lacked instruments and compositional training. She didn’t own a computer. She couldn’t produce music traditionally, and with the onset of the Pandemic, Neveah didn’t have the same opportunities to learn as others previously had to learn her desired trade. What she did have, however, was a desire to create– and she owned a smartphone.

Using MIDI, a digital interface connecting electronic musical instruments through its software to play, edit, and record music, Neveah ostensibly created music from thin air. Music technology offers a gateway to produce music without high-end tools. Neveah, for example, used the Voice Memos app to record vocal tracks, the Notes app to compose lyrics, and the GarageBand app to produce and layer MIDI and vocal tracks.

She persisted in toiling toward her dream, and she completed her first album as a Freshman.

Creating an entire album as a freshman is a prodigious achievement. She’s earned accolades from her high school, news outlets like Fox 13 News (even performing live on one segment), ABC4 Utah, The Daily Herald, significant cultural figures such as Senator Mitt Romney, and world-renowned schools like John Hopkins University.

Neveah is a disruptor of tempo, someone who marches to the beat of their drum. She continues to create music, offering classes to others in less favorable positions. She forwards an equitable message that you, too, regardless of age and background, can create art. Overall, she reminds us that invention can blossom in stony grounds, and we are immensely proud of her ongoing accomplishments.