People around the world interact and create music on a daily basis, and that’s not different within the walls of Manhattan High School. Whether it’s listening to your favorite artist on Spotify, or singing in the school choir, there is no doubt that music is everywhere at Manhattan High School. 

It’s scary to go up in front of an audience and sing for them. However, when you have a burning passion and undeniable talent, there’s nothing stopping you. This is the case for junior Dezi Massengale. As Massengale ventures into the music industry, he looks to perform at venues around the Manhattan area. While it’s been tough to get his name out there, he has the ear for music that is helping him succeed. 

“As soon as I have an idea, I have to run. I literally run to my laptop or an instrument that’s nearest to me, and I record it to make sure it stays where it is,” Massengale said. “It’s kind of like a game of telephone, like once you play it over and over again, it morphs into something else. But having that first thought recorded, you have so many opportunities to go from there. I get frustrated a lot, and most of the time I’m having fun, but there’s a quarter of the process where you feel like this song isn’t gonna be it.”

Massengale has had music in his life for as long as he can remember, leading to his continued love for music throughout his life.

“I started playing piano when I was five years old because my mom was an orchestra teacher. And then I played, I started playing drums a little bit, and then finally got a teacher named Robert Rodriguez,” Massengale said. “Honestly he is like a father figure to me, because I’ve known him for so long that he’s taught me so many valuable lessons.”

Massengale’s goal is to give others the emotions he feels through his music. Even if he has a long road ahead of him, his passion for music won’t let him stop creating songs. 

“It makes me feel emotions that I don’t think people can really describe. I can’t ever name those feelings,” Massengale said. “It is my dream to be a performer. It is my dream to make music.”

One of the beautiful things about music is how different people’s taste can be. While some, like Massengale, can enjoy more indie rock type songs, some can enjoy completely different types of songs. Senior Advith Natarajan likes to create Indian classical music with his family.

“Each year we perform at the Indian Students Association at K-State,” Natarajan said. “They have a yearly festival called Sanskriti and it’s a conglomeration of a lot of different dance disciplines from different parts of India. There’s cultural presentations, music of course, and there’s a sort of cultural area with food and stuff outside of it. It’s a big event that happens yearly, and so it’s our family tradition in a way.”

Natarajan and his family have performed at the festival for six years, taking a break for a couple of years during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, they have to practice multiple times a week in order to prepare for the festival.

“We spend a couple months, like once or twice a week, we just get together, practice for the performance, and make sure all the pieces are already in,” Natarajan said. “We’re pretty close, I’d say, to having it ready. Probably a couple more practices and it should be set to go.”

The festival is coming up on April 19, so the Natarajan family is finalizing their pieces as they prepare for the festival. 

“I guess we’re all musically inclined, so we all contribute a specific part,” Natarajan said. “I sing and play guitar and also play the veena, which is a string instrument. My mom is the lead veena player, and then my dad plays the keyboard and sings, and my brother is the big drummer. We have three separate pieces. One is classical, traditional, which is a veena piece that me and my brother and my mom are playing, and then we have a fusion piece, which is an Indian classical piece.”

Natarajan is not the only student who found their love for music through their background and culture. Sophomore Daniel Wei performed a throat-singing piece called “Chinggis Khaanii Magtaal” for the schoolwide talent show.

“I think the importance of having something unique in a talent show is very important to me, because you want to stand out from everyone else,” Wei said. “The surprise factor was definitely there. Because the voice is very different, it’s not like anything people have heard before.”

Wei got his music start at a very young age, expanding his music background by learning multiple instruments.

“I started my music journey when I was three-ish,” Wei said. “I started learning piano with my mom and she taught me piano up to eighth-ish-grade. I still play piano for fun now. I played trumpet for fifth grade and sixth grade with the school band, but then I quit and joined orchestra from seventh grade onwards. Now, I’m in chamber orchestra as an assistant concertmaster. I have many other random instruments that I play, like automaton, piano horn, and I’m planning on getting an erhu to expand my Asian area.”

Music continues to be ever changing, which is why it’s interesting for people worldwide. While music has evolved over time, it’s a constant for students at MHS, and it always will be. 

“Music is life. It means it is expression,” Massengale said. “It is a process at which I think everybody can speak their side of the story or make up stories, as well as I think music is a timeless work of art that no matter what can be heard and still be relevant.”