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Keri Bailey From Anadel Talks About Learning Music

Keri Bailey, from the band Anadel, speaks about her experience in learning music and the importance of music education for children.

“Music has always been a very important part of my family’s connection as a family. As far back as I can remember, my Dad was always playing his acoustic guitar. All of my siblings play an instrument. My parents started us on the piano when we were between the ages of 4-6 years old. Eventually, we branched out and selected the instrument that we as individuals found a connection with. My instrument is the violin.”

“Growing up, my Dad would have us all playing together in our living room, playing mostly old hymns and re-arranging them to suit our style. We performed at Churches, but reserved most of our concerts for friends and family in our living room after Mom’s home-made enchilada dinner.”

“My parents always encouraged us to practice. My Mom incorporated practicing into our regular school-schedule and made us practice our instrument for at least 30 minutes every day. And while at the time it sometimes seemed dreadful and boring, now when I look back, I can’t ever thank my parents enough for pushing me to practice and get better and succeed.”

“When we started getting into high school, my brother, JT, started playing guitar and writing his own songs. I accompanied him on violin and would sing harmony to his vocal lead. This is when we didn’t need Mom to tell us to practice anymore. This is the point where we started creating music, rather than just practicing stuff that was already out there. I loved writing my own violin arrangements, experimenting, and creating something my very own.”

“Music education is immensely important to me. Mostly because I know how huge a part it played in my music life in middle school and high school.”

“I auditioned for and joined the NVYS [Napa Valley Youth Symphony] when I was 10 years old – it was its first year of existence. If I had not joined the NVYS and experienced the fun and challenges it brought, I would have, without a doubt, given up on playing the violin. Being a little girl and being able to play in a symphony was mind-blowing for me! I mean, who has this kind of opportunity?”

“I remember seeing my coaches that first year, spending time with them every week, and being inspired to be like them. Because of my involvement in the NVYS, I was able to be in a chamber music group (quartet) for 2 years in high school. We played weddings, events, fundraisers, concerts, went on the radio and were featured on “The View from the Bay” TV station to promote the Festival Del Sol. When I was 17, the NVYS traveled to New York to play in Carnegie Hall. These experiences were life-changing! And they were a huge impact on me as a musician. It made me fall in love with Classical music, and be artistically aware and educated.”

“If Anadel ever goes anywhere, I would love to give back to Music Education as much as possible. Kids need music, and with all the arts programs being cut from schools, non-profit youth symphonies will be all that’s left. We need to keep them going.”

“Right now, we are really trying to play locally as much as we can. Napa has a huge arts community, and we think it would be awesome to create a deep connection with people here since this is where it all began.”

“Being a family, I think, contributes to our band in a positive way. Because, we are a family, and we are very close, and we’ve been making music together since we were kids. We learned how to make things work and get along with each other early on. And we have a terrific time when we are together. And when there is ever a disagreement about who stole Dad’s drum sticks, or who claimed to use the music stand first, we just let the parents make the final call, leave it at that, and make up a few hours later. Things proceed as if nothing ever happened…even if the drum sticks never appear again! Two of the band members: Ben Guerrieri, and Andrew Arcadi, aren’t family members, but they are like our family. We all get along really well!”

“Being in the NVYSO since its birth, playing in it for 8 years, and now coming back to perform in my band with the symphony backing us up is amazing! I never imagined anything like this would happen. I’m very excited to come back and play as a member of Anadel, rather than be in the Symphony. I hope that it will show the audience how important the Youth Symphony is to me, and how it got me to where I am today.”

Keri Bailey

Members of The Band Anadel:

JT Bailey – lead vocalist, guitar, mandolin
Keri Bailey – vocalist, violin
Steven Bailey – keyboard
Andrew Arcadi – lead guitar
Tom Bailey – drums
Ben Guerrieri – bass

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