Thank you, 2016!

Just having a moment to reflect on my musical highlights of 2016…

– Seeing what was once a dream of running my own music and performing arts school, continue to be a reality and grow to becoming all I could have dreamt of and more has been indescribably awesome! The LCA Stage Academy journey continues on strong and it’s incredibly exciting. I get butterflies just thinking about it. I’ve got so many exciting plans and things in the pipeline for 2017. I feel so lucky to work with such an amazing team of dedicated teachers around me and such wonderful, talented performers. To see them all developing their skills, gaining confidence, making friends for life and just going from strength to strength every week is so special to me. With a lot of hard work and determination, dreams do come true.

– I am also so incredibly proud of all my vocal students (singing and speech). I get to work with so many talented and lovely people on a weekly basis to help them on their journeys to achieve their own goals and dreams. 2017 is an exciting year for many of my students and I am very much looking forward to being part of their next steps.

– This was my first year as Westerham Local Vocals musical director and it was fantastic. There’s something very special and unique about my WLV songbirds and I feel very lucky to be a part of it all. Agian, I have lots planned for 2017 and I can’t wait to see it all unfold.

– ORFILA had some amazing opportunities throughout 2016. I’m so unbelievably grateful for every single one of them. Playing at C2C Country to Country was always a huge dream of mine, something on my bucket list in fact, and we played the Big Entrance Stage at the o2 arena in London alongside country artists I’ve admired for years; Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town, Chris Stapleton and Kacey Musgraves to name a few.

– We also played at Gibraltar Music Festival for a second time and opened the main stage at Victoria Stadium for the Stereophonics. We were on the bill alongside some incredible artists including Travis, Heather Small, Nathan Sykes, NE-YO, Zara Larsson and KT Tunstall. We also released our second album which featured amazing musicians who brought our songs to life.

– We also took a trip to Nashville, the home of country music, to play some gigs and we explored like total tourists. Nasville is somewhere I’ve dreamt of visiting for many many years and I’m so grateful that it became a reality in 2016. Something I’ll always hold close to my heart.

So, 2016 was an incredible year, and these are just some of the highlights. I feel extremely lucky to have had such amazing experiences and to have had all these opportunities which are now precious memories that will last a lifetime.

Thank you to everybody who shows continous support and belief in all the above. You will never know how truly grateful I am.

I wish you all a successful, joyful and musical 2017. Dream big, work hard and remember that anything is possible. Always stay humble and kind and start each day with a grateful heart.

Here we go!!! Let’s see what 2017 has in store!

Lou xx