New York is home to a lot of interesting people. It’s one of the most diverse cities in the world, and a central hub for fostering culture and music. It’s expected to see a unique outfit, meet a new person who has some cool niche interest or spot a celebrity such as “Heated Rivalry”’s very own Hudson Williams mere blocks from Lincoln Center. What we don’t expect is for a singer to be sitting next to you in class.
Mia Lorelei is a senior from San Diego at Fordham Lincoln Center, majoring in new media and digital design. She is also an accomplished singer, having released two EPs and played at various live venues around New York. If her name sounds familiar, it’s most likely because she opened for Lincoln Center’s annual Winter Fest this year.
Despite not being anywhere close to Lorelei’s first show, as she has played in various venues around New York since her first EP, Winter Fest was by far her largest crowd. “It was the biggest week of my life,” she said. “I’ve heard so many artists talk about the energy of crowds and feeding off of them, but there were so many people, and I was like, wait, this is awesome.” This was Lorelei’s third year applying, and she was finally accepted to open in her last year at Fordham, impressing crowds with her music, which she describes as a 90s rock band covering a 60s folk song.
However, Lorelei has not always been this widely accomplished as an artist. She started to write songs during her freshman year of high school and spent those years practicing and editing demos in garage bands, but never considered pursuing it more seriously. When looking at colleges, she actually started her time at Fordham as a Gabelli student, majoring in marketing. In this first year, she realized how much music had been a part of her life now that she did not have the time to continue creating. She spent the winter break of her first year creating what would be her first EP, “All Star,” and everything after that is history.
Lorelei’s music takes inspiration from artists like Arthur Russell and, surprisingly, writer J.D. Salinger. Lorelei herself takes inspiration from the small, mundane moments, with various songs coming from interactions she witnessed in her everyday life, and Salinger has been a part of that. “His books are so descriptive on the smallest details that, hypothetically, would be so boring, but I view it more as it just gives small moments more value,” Lorelei said. This multimedia inspiration is not a surprise given her background, though.
Outside of creating music, Lorelei also does videography, stop-motion animation videos and collaging. Video, alongside music, has been a long-term passion for her. Recently, she also learned how to crochet as a break from the constant grind of creating music, to keep it as something she loves. For her senior capstone project, she is even creating her own magazine, so be sure to be on the lookout for that. Involved with all aspects of music creation, Lorelei is also currently working at a small record company, where she helps with social media, label coordination and distribution.
For advice to those interested in pursuing music, writing or producing, she recommends just going for it. “Something that I really passionately believe in is that regardless of the industry or field that somebody is pursuing, don’t wait for the tools that you think are needed,” she said. “If you have the passion and the integrity, regardless of what tools you’re using, that vision will carry through.”
Lorelei truly has made the most of her time at Fordham and utilizes her skills in multimedia in every aspect of her life. Make sure to give her music a listen on Spotify and try to catch one of her upcoming shows.
