music<\/a> major. “It was this mysterious thing. I’d marvel, ‘How’s my dad doing that?’”<\/p>\r\nProfessor Ashley L’Esperance ’13 also discovered a love for music watching her dad, who played in bands throughout her childhood.<\/p>\r\n
“I always thought it would be cool to be a musician, and I knew from very early on that you could make money doing it,” she says.<\/p>\r\n
For Manny Torto ’27, music was inevitable. He grew up singing in the church choir, where he found that music was transformative and cultivated community-building, which he finds more important than individual stardom.<\/p>\r\n
“In a religious setting, you have that intrinsic motivation to make music, not for yourself, but for others and for something higher than yourself,” says the music major.<\/p>\r\n
The three Clarkies are linked by musical passion — and a course. L’Esperance teaches Beginning a Music Career, where the alumna guides students, including Temple and Torto, who are navigating their entry into the music industry.<\/p>\r\n
L’Esperance, Temple, and Torto represent cross-generational Clark talent. Temple has spent the last four years amassing musical prowess and technical know-how. Though Torto is just starting college, he has already released more than 40 songs on Spotify to an audience surpassing 5,000 monthly listeners. A decade into her career as a singer-songwriter, L’Esperance imparts wisdom on managing a hectic touring schedule, slowing down to prioritize quality over quantity, and learning that fame is not the definition of success.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n“I want to open them up to the possibility that having a career in the arts can be a lot more like my experience: full of left turns.”<\/p>\r\n
-Professor Ashley L’Esperance ’13<\/p>\r\n<\/cite>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n
![\"student](\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024_Spree_Day-93-420x280-1.jpg\")