By BROOKLYN PATTERSON
East Toronto singer, songwriter and dancer Isabelle Ortiz released her third original song Favourite Time of Year across major streaming platforms on Friday, Nov. 27.
Ortiz has had to face new challenges being an artist during a pandemic and having a limited scope of reach. Oh, and she is in the sixth grade.
“It has been hard to have my singing, dance and musical theatre classes, performances and competitions cancelled,” she said. “Some classes and auditions have continued online, which I’m happy about.”
These are struggles many people are familiar with this year as COVID-19 has forced learning and work online. It’s not just the art Ortiz is missing, though.
“I have also missed seeing family and friends, but I am glad that we can at least talk by phone and FaceTiming,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz has been singing for most of her life. When she was a toddler, she was constantly singing and enjoyed learning songs in other languages. She would watch Sesame Street and sing the songs from the show over and over.
The inspiration behind her new Christmas song, which Ortiz co-wrote with her vocal coach, is the anticipation of the holiday season in a year that hasn’t been great for a lot of people.
“With the pandemic, Christmas has been something to look forward to. It has always been my favourite time of year. I wanted to record and release a Christmas song that was happy and meaningful to myself and hopefully other people, too,” Ortiz said.
Throughout the young performer’s life and career, positivity has been a driving force behind her creations. This concept has carried over into the way she promotes herself and her projects.
“My Instagram and YouTube handles are about positivity, so I want to make music that promotes that message of hope, positivity and is also authentic for myself as a person and an artist,” she said.
Favourite Time of Year is available to stream now on Spotify, Apple Music, Itunes, and YouTube.
For more information on Ortiz, please go to her Spotify account at https://open.spotify.com/artist/4VgTuT9H9j1qTPXGGna3Q0
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