By Alisa Boswell-Gore
A Portales fifth grader just walked away with a state award in music composition for composing her own original song.
Kyra (pronounced Keera) Gentry, 11, won first place for music composition in the intermediate age division in the Land of Enchantment PTA Reflections arts in education program for her song “One Time Ago.” The song is about a girl who dreams of catching a star and keeping it as a pet, but as she gets older, she learns that she cannot make the star come down to her; she has to ask it. When she whispers to the star, it comes to her.
“The theme for this year was “Within Reach,” so it got me thinking about stars and how people can’t reach them, then my mind started wandering as it does … and I thought it would be fun to have a star as a pet,” Kyra said of how she came up with the song. “The first thing you think about is do I want it to rhyme; do I want it to be upbeat and catchy; do I want it to be slow? What style do I want it to be? Then I think of random things, then I come up with a chorus, then the rest comes out of that.”
Kyra participated in the program two years in a row when she lived in Oklahoma, placing in her first year participating in the category of film production, then winning state in her second year and placing fourth at nationals.
The fact that the local area did not participate in the Reflections program didn’t stop Kyra from participating. Her dad chose to coordinate the program for her.
“We hope that this coming year, we can get more kids to participate under our umbrella,” said Kyra’s mom, Cindy.
Competing with others is fun, said Kyra, “but also it’s nice to have your voice heard and to submit something that might make a difference later on.”
But it doesn’t stop at song writing for Kyra.
Along with writing multiple songs, she plays piano and is writing a book about four kids around her age who live in the wilderness and have powers.
“She’s always had a strong creative streak. She is writing a book, and this is not the first song she’s written. She just likes to create,” said Cindy Gentry.
In fact, Kyra is taking typing as an elective, so she can type faster for writing her creative pieces.
“It lets my imagination run wild, and I like telling people what goes on inside my mind and what I wish I could be a part of,” Kyra said of her stories. “I wish I could have my own adventures, so I like writing songs and stories about those adventures I wish I could have.”
Kyra said she would encourage others her age to tell their own stories.
“You don’t ever want to come up with an idea then forget,” she said. “If you come up with the tiniest sliver (of an idea), it could turn into a huge song or a famous book.”
