young & inspired words eleanor mckay photo warren reed
Connected by their love of music, Emma Volard and Jake Amy are in tune onstage and off.
The talented teenagers first met at school, and a shared love of music cemented their relationship. These days, they’re studying music at Monash University and performing in a dizzying array of bands. It was Jake’s grandmother who got him started on the piano around the age of seven. “My gran had an organ in the living room and she was a whiz on it. She taught me a couple of things and then I started having lessons.” Gently-spoken and deeply focused, Jake has a passion for jazz and 20th-century composers such as Stravinsky and Olivier Messiaen. He is single-minded in his pursuit of his musical goals. “I have no hobbies,” he laughingly admits. “I don’t have any passions besides music.” In stark contrast to Jake’s quiet introspection, Emma is outgoing and bubbly, as keen on sport as she is on music. She first picked up the drumsticks in primary school, but by Year 12 she’d stepped out from behind the kit to concentrate on her singing. “I always had a passion for singing, but I never really pursued it. I tried out for a musical in high school and didn’t get in. I thought ‘I’m no good. I can’t do it,’” explains Emma. “Then I came to Newhaven College and people actually believed in me as a singer.” In Year Nine, Jake and Emma both attended a Newhaven band-camp and were put into the school music group Parallel Parking. “After that, we just kept talking,” says Jake. Emma laughs. “I think I was just impressed because he was such a good piano player.”
Since that first musical connection, the pair have continued performing together. As well as their duo, they currently have two other main outlets: Silicon Valley – an alternative rock band – and jazz group The Groove Hunters. Both groups have recorded a CD and played gigs locally and in Melbourne. They nominate their recent sold-out album launch among their musical highpoints, alongside shows at The Paris Cat in Melbourne, playing the organ in the Melbourne Town Hall (Jake) and singing the National Anthem at the Moto GP (Emma). While securing and organising gigs is hard work, they both love being up on stage. “When you finish a song and you hear people clapping and cheering, there’s a real sense of satisfaction,” explains Emma. “But it’s not like you just go up there and play a song. It’s about the amount of effort you have to put in to get to that point.” And Jake loves the ever-evolving nature of live performance. “Everything you hear live is going to change the next time you hear it,” he enthuses. The pair is enthusiastic about the future and grateful for the support they’ve received from the Gippsland music community. “We’re pretty lucky that we grew up here,” says Emma. “Gippsland is just ridiculously artistic and musical, and you get so many different opportunities.” And the chance to share their music is a constant motivator. “I wouldn’t want to just play the music I write in my lounge-room,” says Jake. “I want people to listen to it.”
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