Brenna Vick

Prodigy is a word that has not yet been completely devalued by a culture prone to excessive hyperbole. And even suggesting it be used to describe Brenna Vick might cause her to cringe. But it's not overstating matters to say the 17-year-old Morris girl is a unique musical talent.

The daughter of two music teachers, Vick began dinging about the time she learned to talk. Vick began singing in church as a kindergartner, memorizing the refrains of songs because she couldn't read the word, much less music. She began playing piano in first grade and began writing songs as a fifth grader.

She regularly sings and accompanies herself at local ceremonies and weddings - including an early Decemeber performance before several thousand people welcoming area National Guard troops home from Iraq - and she recently released a 14-cut CD which includes nine of her own songs.

"I'd rather sing in front of 5,000 than speak in front of 500," Vick said. "I feel more comfortable that way. It's an easy way to express how I feel."

Vick is spending her final high school year as a post-secondary student at the University of Minnesota, Morris. She plays oboe for the UMM band, tenor saxophone in jazz band, and she's a member of the UMM Concert Choir.

Proceeds from her CD, titled "Fly," are earmarked to help pay for a two-week spring tour of the West Coast with the Concert Choir.

And next year, Vick will attend the University of Memphis with the goal of a career in music. She'll pursue a music industry major concentrating on recording technology and studio work.

"A lot of people start there," Vick said. "I kind of want a back up. I know I want to be in the music industry no matter what I do. If I can't make it singing, I still want to be in it."

The career in singing at least has a foundation.

Vick first began listening and writing country and pop music, but her influences lately have melded somewhat to folk pop.

In addition to the nine songs she wrote for "Fly," the disc includes four songs by Keri Noble and a song by Jewel, whose style is an obvious influence on Vick's recording.

"That's what a lot of the songs now are like," Vick said, "Some of the early songs I wrote beginning back in 2002. There is a definite difference in the new songs. It's the same kind of feel, but it's obvious that they've progressed."

The recording process was stripped down and simple, Vick said. UMM professor, Ken Hodgson mastered and engineered the recording at the UMM Recital Hall as a part of his CC Productions, with Vick accompanying herself on piano or guitar.

"The whole thing took a couple of hours," she said. "A lot of the songs are first takes; we didn't do any editing. It's a live recording."

And that's the feel she hoped for. A touch of that unique talent as it's only beginning to blossom.

"The songs really are me," Vick said.
- Morris Sun Tribune 01/04/2006