Bekka Port began writing songs during COVID; teacher calls her talent ‘amazing’
During the five-minute passing periods on Fridays at Huron High School, the P.A. system plays popular music selected by English teacher Bob Fox for the students to enjoy.
One recent Friday, students were treated to a song they’d never heard before: It was sung by sophomore Rebekka Port, 15, who had written it as a personal project for her International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme.
“Jar of Sand” was an immediate hit.
“The entire class was over the moon for Bekka,” recalls English teacher Sheri Horwitz, who had given the song to Fox to share. “And so was I! Other teachers began emailing to compliment the song and her beautiful voice and how impressed they were—what an absolutely thrilling and wonderful moment for her!”
Bekka uploaded the song to Spotify and will perform it and other original songs on Saturday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the North Star Lounge, 301 N. Fifth Avenue in Kerrytown—her first ticket-required gig.
At just 15, Bekka says she knows what she wants to do for the rest of her life.
“I know this is cliche, but it means the whole world to me,” she says. “It brings me so much joy to be able to write songs and sing them. It’s just something that makes me happy, and the idea that I could do that for a living and for the rest of my life make music with people is an ideal world for me.”
Bekka is the daughter of Sylvia Taschka and Andrew Port. Her older sister, Hannah Port, 17, is a senior at Washtenaw International High School, who writes most of the lyrics for Bekka.
Taschka says she first noticed Rebekka’s musical inclination during a car ride when she was very little.
“All of a sudden, I heard her in her child seat in the back singing along to a song that was playing on the radio and I thought, Wow, that is really a very good match to the music!'” she recalls.
Then, when she was in second grade, she joined a choir in Germany, where the family was living for half the year at the time. When it was time to move back to Ann Arbor, the choir teacher made Taschka promise that Rebekka would keep on singing.
Fast forward to the pandemic. One day Bekka asked her mother to listen to a song that she had been writing.
“This was something new,” Taschka recalls. “I had no idea what to expect, and when I listened to it I was honestly a bit stunned by how good the tune was.”
Soon, the sisters were collaborating.
“I always wanted to make sure that our daughters would get a musical education and it turned out that Ann Arbor was the perfect place for that,” says Taschka. “What the AAPS offers in terms of musical education is a real treasure. I love it so much that everyone learns to play an instrument in elementary school! It is not just wonderful to listen to all their performances but also to know that many of these students will have a lifelong connection to music.”
Horwitz says she feels very lucky that she was able to be there as Bekka’s personal project teacher to help guide her and be a sounding board for ideas.
“She is so talented!” says Horwitz. “From hearing her work, it is clear that she has a strong grasp of how to create a song, how to craft lyrics, and how to put together a melody to go along with it that is all well beyond someone her age—or even someone twice her age! It’s one thing to just be an amazing singer—which she is—but it’s quite another to be able to put together a well-crafted song and she is able to do both.”
Horwitz says Bekka proves you don’t need to be the loudest person in the room to shine.
“Her talent and her work ethic is obvious to anyone who meets her or hears her work and it is my hope that many, many more people will hear her songs because she has such a gift that I really want her to share with the world,” she says.
Bekka is grateful that Horwitz convinced her to allow five minutes of her song to be played for the school.
“I timidly said yes, but I’m so glad I did because during and afterwards people were approaching and texting me telling me they heard the song over the speakers, and were so impressed/proud of me,” Bekka recalls. “Thinking back on that week, Ms. Horwitz was so incredibly supportive of me, and I am forever grateful for that.”
——————————————————————————————————–
Q & A with Bekka Madeleine
What inspired you to start pursuing music?
I think every kid wants to pursue becoming a “pop star” at some point in their life, and I just happen to be one of the few who never got out of that phase. Although I’ve now advanced to wanting to become more than just a “pop star.” Pursuing music now includes writing songs, producing music, studying music theory, learning how to manage a business, etc. But what made me stick with it is not something, but rather someone. Had it not been for my mom, I don’t think I’d be pursuing music. My mom was the one who first took notice of my voice. When I asked her, she said she noticed while I was singing to the radio in the car that I was pretty good! And I know that’s a super cliche mom thing to do, to hype up your own child, but one thing my mom doesn’t do is lie to me, so I knew there had to be a truth to it.
If you could sing like anyone, who would that be?
This is a hard one because as someone who has a choral upbringing in singing, I have been training most of my life to go on the path of singing like an opera singer. And I think it would be absolutely incredible to be able to sing like someone like Joyce DiDonato—who I actually sang with as a part of the Ann Arbor Youth Chorale. But considering the part of the music scene I am going further into, I absolutely adore Hozier’s voice. The three things that are important to me about singing are: 1) the ability to control the level of sound you produce 2) your diction 3) expression. I think Hozier has all three.
What themes and topics tend to inspire your songwriting?
This is definitely a question Hannah would be more fit to answer, but I’ll try my best. GenZ is a generation that has really gone through a lot. From the pandemic to all the other global issues happening right now including war, climate change, etc. Hannah doesn’t shy away from these topics, and so they are very prominent in our music, giving it also that melancholic aspect. And that’s what I love about our music.
What can you say about teacher Sheri Horwitz and your personal project?
Ms. Horwitz is probably my favorite teacher I’ve had at Huron so far. (Sorry, other teachers!) What I really admired about Ms. Horwitz is that she engaged with her students, but not just the extroverted ones. I find that teachers often bond with their more outgoing students, and I get it because it’s easier to have conversations with them, but as someone who is more on the shy side, it was something I quickly took notice of, and really appreciated about Ms. Horwitz. Other than just being one of those teachers who makes you actually want to show up to class and learn, she was so incredibly supportive of my music.
It didn’t take me long at all to decide what I wanted my project to be. In fact, I knew freshman year when I saw the projects of the class of 2025 that I was going to produce one of my original songs, and that is exactly what I did a year later.
I was really excited about being able to spend a class period doing something I really like: making music. Furthermore, I loved being able to see everyone else’s projects. Sometimes the project was a hobby, and other times it was a glimpse into the career path the person was interested in! Either way, Personal Project is a great creative output that helped me release my first song on Spotify, so I am forever grateful to that class for pushing me to do that.
How long have you been singing and writing songs?
I have been singing since I could remember. There’s a video of little me rocking out to “Rumor Has It” by Adele to prove it! I lived in Freiburg in Germany for half a year my second grade year, and joined a choir there. After that, my mom and I searched for choirs for me to join back in Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor Youth Chorale caught my mother’s eye, but I was too young to join. Once I was in fifth grade, I auditioned and got into their Descant Choir. The next year I was promoted to their Concert Choir, and I stuck with that choir for about four years during COVID and everything. And speaking of COVID, when I was 11, that is when I started writing songs. In my immense boredom and constant state of being online, I discovered some YouTube videos of people sharing their original songs. I was most enthralled by Olivia Rodrigo and Tate McRae. And I really wanted to do that as well, so I found a Masterclass by Alicia Keys and studied that. I vividly remember pausing one of the lessons, walking over to my keyboard, and writing my very first song. It wasn’t very good, but I can still remember it a bit to this day, so it wasn’t not catchy!
Which instruments do you play?
I play the piano and guitar. I started piano lessons very early on, maybe in first or second grade. I stuck with piano lessons right through COVID, and then it stopped afterward because my piano teacher moved away. I loved loved loved her, and so I haven’t been too keen on finding a different piano teacher. That’s why I ended up taking guitar lessons. But that only lasted a year as well. I still play both almost every day. I play piano more frequently though because I am more comfortable with it and write all my songs with it. I have only written one song on the guitar so far, and I recently uploaded it to YouTube and TikTok. It’s called “The Road of Song.” I guess you could also say I play the instrument of my voice. I am taking voice lessons right now. It is classical training though, so it doesn’t help me too much with my more poppy singing, but still, I don’t want to just end all classical music because it is something I really enjoy.
How would you describe the genre of your original songs?
This is a question my mother, sister, and I have pondered for a while. Having only produced one of my songs so far, it is very hard to say. Maybe my music will be a completely new genre, but for now, I would describe it as indie dreampop ballads.
Have you performed your songs live before? If so, where and when?
I started performing my songs live at the talent show of the Ann Arbor Youth Chorale. Last summer, I started going to open mics around town, and that led to me getting my Happy Hour gig at the North Star Lounge. That was November 10th of last year and afterwards, they immediately offered me my first ticketed gig coming up this April 13th. Last year, I also performed at a family friend’s art event during the Westside Art Hop. I know her from the German school I go to (Deutsche Schule Ann Arbor), where I got to perform quite a bit. Hannah and I wrote their Alma Mater song called “Jeden Samstag über den Atlantik”—which means “Every Saturday Across the Atlantic.”
How are you feeling about your upcoming gig at North Star Lounge?
Honestly, the excitement/anxiety doesn’t set in until the very last minute before I go on stage. But I am preparing a lot with advertisement, practicing, planning, etc., and that makes me happy. This is what I want to do for a living. I want to make and perform music that people can enjoy, and right now, that is what is happening, and I am so thankful to North Star Lounge for allowing this to happen.
What can audiences expect from your live solo performance, where you’ll be playing the piano and guitar?
To any who may be coming: You can expect some “oldies”—which means I sang them at the last concert—but I have quite a few new songs up my sleeve as well that Hannah and I wrote in the last drawling winter. I want you to have a good time, maybe meet someone, eat good food (North Star Lounge’s food is scrumptious, and all vegan), and hopefully go home with a few new songs you like listening to.
What are your plans and goals as a musician during and after high school?
During high school, I want to expand my musical knowledge as much as possible. Unfortunately, Huron does not have many choices for music classes. Their orchestra, band, and choir program is incredible, but I would love to take some classes on for example, how to produce music. Because that is not possible, I plan to dual enroll at Washtenaw Community College. They have a class on self-management for artists. There is the music part of being a musician, obviously, but there is a whole business side to the whole thing. Being an artist means being a brand. You need to know how to sell your songs, merch, whatever, and then all the royalties and stuff. It is not that simple. That is why I will take that class at Washtenaw. The classes I will take at Huron will also be mostly business-orientated, even if it isn’t directed at music, I still think that will be a huge help. And another upside to studying business is that if the music career doesn’t work out in a way that I have a steady income after school, I could always get a job in business.
But thinking optimistically, I will want to continue studying music after high school at a college. I’ve had my eye on Juilliard for a while but was recently introduced to Berklee as well. I feel like I should also address that, if in the unlikely situation where my career would take off during high school, I would still want to try and take music classes. It is really important to me to have the musical knowledge to back up what I am doing. I want to continue learning as much as I can about music, so I am not limited in what I can take part in. I want to be able to write music for movies, musicals, TV shows, advertisements, etc. I want to be able to write music for other people.
Who are some of your musical influences?
When I’m asked this question, I think people always expect me to say a singer. And while there are some, my biggest musical influence is my older sister, Hannah Port. She is the lyricist of “Jar of Sand” and many, many others. Hannah’s writing is like nothing you’ll ever read. Something about her way of expression speaks to me more than anything I think I’ll ever experience. Although I admit I do not always know exactly what she is writing about, I can understand what she is trying to convey simply through the amazing atmospheres she can create with her words. Were it not for Hannah’s lyrics and support in everything, I do not think I would have the same chance of making it in the music industry. Plus, how many people can say that they get to work with their sister?
We have to ask: Are you a Swiftie? If so, what are your favorite Taylor Swift songs?
If I compare myself to my sister Hannah, no, I am not a Swiftie. But I still like to think of myself as a Swiftie. I really love Taylor Swift. She just writes hit after hit. What she has going for her, immersed in the music world, publishing a new album every other year, that’s what I want to do. And on top of that, she just seems like such a genuinely sweet person. She is such a great role model for so many people.
Why did you decide to use a different last name for professional use? How did you choose it?
Rebekka Port was my professional name for a couple of months, but it was just so boring to me. “Madeleine” is actually my middle name, and “Bekka” is a nickname my family calls me. I really wanted to be seen as ethereal and dreamy, and that name seemed to fit that description. I am a bit worried that the name, specifically the last part of it, is too complicated. People already mispronounce them, and have trouble spelling it, which I get! It’s an odd spelling. Maybe in the future it’ll get shortened to just “Bekka” or “Bekka M.”, but for now, I’m gonna stick with it. And who knows, maybe people will grow used to it.
How do you balance your music with schoolwork and other activities?
It’s not easy, that’s for sure. I’ve learned the hard way that if I really want to be able to pursue my music career, I have to make sacrifices. I’ve had to quit playing soccer, and don’t have much time to hang out with friends. I was in the show “Beauty & the Beast,” and I didn’t even have a main role, which was incredibly time-consuming. I could not work on my own music for weeks. My more challenging classes in high school are time-consuming as well, but my education is extremely important to me, so to deal with that dilemma, I’m trying the best I can to take classes that are in some way or another related to music. The hardest thing out of everything I’ve had to give up though is my time to hang out with friends. I’ve noticed the side effects of that the most and sometimes I sit on my bed at home wondering if I should not be living more in the moment, having more of a high school experience, and whatnot, but I firmly believe the trade-off I am making will be worth it.
Be the first to comment