She has plucked her last string, possibly for good
A talented violinist performing and studying at UNLV, Miranda Kennedy faced incredible challenges that forced her to retire music for good.
Living in Las Vegas her whole life, Miranda Kennedy never fooled around in school. As a little girl, she always had a knack for music, in particular, the violin. She loved the way it sounded and played.
“I felt like it was something I had to pursue,” Kennedy said. “Playing violin was the only option for me going forward into adulthood. I knew that going into middle school, which looking back is simply crazy to me.”
In eighth grade, Kennedy started private lessons and was one of the most dedicated players in her orchestra. Ranked by chair, the bad players would sit in the back, while players like Kennedy would sit at the very front.
“I enjoyed being first chair, second chair and third chair,” Kennedy said. “I hate bragging, but I always knew I was better than everyone else.”
Kennedy attended Las Vegas Academy, a prestigious arts school in the heart of Downtown Las Vegas. She had to audition to get in, ending up in the beginner’s level, expected of incoming freshman. She would be required to practice at least three hours a day to improve.
In her sophomore year of high school, Kennedy moved up to the second level orchestra. But, she had a unique opportunity to take a chair at the third level, where she kicked her practicing schedule into overdrive. She developed a minute-by-minute planner for her weeks over the summer break. She also made exercise routines to stay in shape. It was non-stop.
“There’s always pressure to perform,” Kennedy said. “There’s always going to be a child prodigy from out of thin air ready to take the last spot that you worked so hard for. It’s incredibly challenging and heartbreaking. I didn’t want to go through that heartbreak so I never allowed myself to.”
After practicing every day for a whole summer, Kennedy made it into the third level. At this point, her career would skyrocket. She traveled across the globe, from Hawaii, Chicago, Spain and in Las Vegas at the Smith Center. These concerts would spread into her junior and senior years at Las Vegas Academy. Rightfully earning a spot at the fourth level, Kennedy felt like she could play any piece of music given the right amount of practice.
In her senior year of high school, Kennedy made the all-state orchestra. Kennedy earned this spot, once again traveling across the United States and the world playing in front of packed auditoriums and theaters, but life was not all sunshine and roses.
Kennedy started developing excruciating pain in her neck. Holding and jamming a violin into her neck for three or more hours every day for months on end became taxing. This pain and stiffness would cause her to lose complete rotation of her neck on some days. It often sidelined her in class, around the time she was getting ready to graduate and apply for colleges.
“I would be playing sometimes upwards of five hours in a single day,” Kennedy said. “This was on top of extracurricular activities and AP classes. I don’t know how I managed it all, especially with the neck pain.”
Her mom, Anna, often wondered if Kennedy would be able to continue playing violin long-term if she was already in pain at 17 years old.
“In high school, it was difficult, especially for our family,” Anna said. “Lessons were expensive, concerts were far away, especially the ones where I had to travel thousands of miles. Do you think being a soccer mom is hard? Let me tell you, that’s nothing compared to what I’ve gone through.”
But Kennedy played through the pain. She still attended concerts on a regular basis and graduated high school with a nearly perfect GPA. She applied for schools and gained acceptance at four University of California institutions. She also applied for UNLV, where she would end up attending. Thanks to its low-cost tuition and local atmosphere, Kennedy wasn’t ready to be in debt.
She would attend UNLV majoring in music her full first year. The competitive atmosphere of orchestras between high school and college cannot even be compared.
“I wasn’t happy. I was stressed all the time. Everyone from my professors and instructors was yelling at me. I told them about my pain and they said I would never get anywhere complaining. It sucked the life out of me.”
However, Kennedy had a back-up plan. In high school, she always enjoyed studying Spanish. She thought the language would benefit her down the road. In 2017, after her first year of college, Kennedy decided to double major in Music and International Business. As time passed, Kennedy slowly lost interest in playing the violin. She would practice for fewer hours a week than she ever had. She started to favor business classes over her music.
She reached her breaking point in the Summer of 2017. She was about to leave her house to go to her part-time job when her mom stopped her and asked if she wanted to even continue playing her violin.
“I just remember collapsing in my mom’s arms and crying uncontrollably,” Kennedy said. “I knew it was over at that point, I couldn’t continue. All the pressure and stress from practicing, all the pain from my neck didn’t seem to matter at that moment. I knew I was done playing, for good.”
“I just saw the light fading from her eyes,” said Anna. “As a mom, I couldn’t continue to see my daughter suffer like this. It was awful and I wanted to help her before it was too late.”
Kennedy took her mom’s advice and decided to step back from music and focus on her business classes. She plans on studying abroad in Spain, where she will learn Spanish like the back of her hand. Learning a second language Kennedy says is the most beneficial thing anyone studying business can do.
“I don’t know exactly where my international business degree will take me," Kennedy said. “However, I do know that learning Spanish is a business tactic. You can’t do business if you can’t talk to them.”
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