Eden-Grace Bailey

  • Program: Charter Oak Cultural Center's Youth Arts Institute
  • School: Christian Academy of Arts Science and Technology
  • Location: Tolland, Connecticut
  • Instrument: Voice, Piano, Cello

Eden-Grace Bailey is a 17-year-old student that recently graduated as class valedictorian from the Christian Academy of Arts Science and Technology in Tolland, Connecticut. At Charter Oak Cultural Center’s Youth Arts Institute, Eden was in Hartford’s All-City Youth Orchestra (HACYO) and took part in ballet and voice. Eden is the perfect example of how success in academics and the arts are closely intertwined.

Eden’s love for music started from a young age. In the 4th grade, Eden began to play the piano and spent her free time teaching herself new songs. Her favorite song is the Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. Eden loves that “there is a pattern to the music” and how Beethoven, who was deaf at the time, was able to create such a beautiful composition. Eden started to play the cello in the 7th grade and continued to play through HACYO at Charter Oak.

When Eden is not learning new music, she is reading. Eden’s favorite genre is science fiction, dystopian novels. Eden loves the ability of dystopian novels to use the future to teach us lessons about the present.

Eden believes that the Charter Oak Cultural Center has given her the “opportunity to grow as a musician” and that music has taught her “the importance of practice.” Saying that: “the more you practice, the better you will become.” A lesson that Eden has applied both to music and her academic studies.

Eden enjoyed learning about the human body and its functions through her anatomy and physiology class at the Christian Academy of Arts Science and Technology. In the Fall, Eden will attend the University of Connecticut on a full scholarship, where she plans to study pre-med. While becoming a doctor will take up a lot of her time, Eden says: “Playing music is something I will always enjoy doing and will do whenever I have the opportunity.”

Eden trusts that she will continue to learn new music and hopes to overcome her stage fright to perform for an audience one day.