A Musical Journey Comes Full Circle
Adriana Mejia
Eight years ago while driving to lunch, Tom Teachey, House of Raeford Farms’ Director of Community Outreach for the Duplin County, NC area, suddenly made an unscheduled stop at the Duplin Music Academy (DMA), a studio offering private music instruction to the community for nearly 20 years. Tom really did not know why he showed up at the door of DMA to spend some time with the owner/teacher, Mrs. Melodee Wynne.
However, it did not take long for him to realize Melodee’s passion for teaching those with a musical gift, and the reality that there were some children that would never realize the extent of their God-given talents due to lack of finances and other barriers. From that unexpected meeting, House of Raeford established a scholarship to DMA for those with financial needs and for children of local House of Raeford employees. To date we have awarded scholarships to 15 young people studying violin, guitar, and piano, some for multiple years.
In 2016, Adriana Mejia, daughter of two House of Raeford associates and an accomplished clarinet player earned a scholarship to DMA to study piano with Mrs. Wynne for the next four years. In 2019, Adriana received a college scholarship as part of the company’s outreach to children of House of Raeford employees, and in turn accepted a music scholarship to the University of North Carolina – Wilmington (UNCW) https://houseofraeford.com/flock-news/a-musical-journey-begins/.
At the time, Melodee described Adriana as having the “inner desire to achieve without thinking of the work involved. She is like a sponge that absorbs everything poured into her. The love for music is deep in her heart.”
Graduating from UNCW this May, Adriana returns to the music academy as a piano teacher. When asked about her life in music and school over the past four years, Adriana replied, “The journey was long and definitely had its unexpected moments. I never could have dreamed to be where I am right now with these new opportunities before me.”
Katty Martinez
One of Adriana’s first piano students is Wallace-Rose Hill ninth grader Katty Martinez who actually started her instruction with Mrs. Wynne in 2018. After a break of about three years, she is back. Katty’s inspiration for studying the piano was her dad. He wanted her “to get out there more”, and playing the piano was an interest she had for a long time. She describes the instrument as “very elegant.” In addition to her music studies, Katty volunteers at a local thrift store serving those in need, and would eventually like to study medicine in college.
In describing the potential she sees in Katty, Adriana shared, “She feels very deeply and is a capable young woman. I think she will accomplish a lot in her life. I can tell she is going to prosper and be just as amazing as what Mrs. Melodee envisioned for me.”
Melodee sees the future of DMA as being wide open. “The people in our community are very gracious about accepting and wanting their children to excel, especially in music. They see it helping in school with other academic studies. Melodee continued, “We are always looking for additional instructors in all instrument categories to give their time to this new generation of students.”
Of course, Adriana is part of this new season at DMA. Although she has the skills and talents to go anywhere to teach and perform, Adriana chose to return to her roots in Duplin County. She describes her decision this way, “When I was a student at DMA, Mrs. Melodee never set barriers for me. She allowed me to prosper in my own way. If it were not for her, I would not be here. I think I would really like to have that same impact on others in this community. I want to return the favor Mrs. Melodee provided for me. I am hoping to bring more opportunities for music growth to the area, and see where that takes me.”
Finally, Adriana shared her philosophy of teaching music. “Every student is different and will have their own individual needs. I think working with them at a level that suits them and understanding their desires overrides anything else. It is about them learning music, and if they are not enjoying that journey, then I am not doing my job right.”
It is House of Raeford’s mission to continue supporting these young instrumentalists, allowing them the opportunity to realize their musical dreams.
L-R: Katty Martinez, Melodee Wynne, Adriana Mejia