Hidden in the crowd of exceptional students on Loyola’s campus are plenty of student musicians aiming to make a name for themselves in the music world, and one of these students is Noa Jamir.

Jamir, who is a commercial music major, grew in her passion for music from a young girl to a freshman in college.

“I’ve been into music since I was little,” Jamir said. “My parents really love music, and they pretty much brought me up on soul, hip-hop and smooth jazz.”

Ever since she wrote her first song at 6 years old, Jamir had a clear idea of the role music would play in her life.

“I didn’t think of it as songwriting at the time,” she said. “I kind of just thought of it as journaling, but I’ve been developing the skill ever since. Songwriting was a way for me to talk myself through feelings that I didn’t really understand. Sometimes, I’ll write a song and I don’t even realize that I basically just explained everything that I’ve been feeling until it’s written.”

As soon as Jamir’s parents realized her passion for music, they got her into lessons.

“I took piano lessons since I was 10 years old,” she said. “I’ve also been taking singing lessons since ninth grade.”

Those years of music lessons have paid off.

Jamir starts the year off right with the release of her extended play “Solemn Nights, Brighter Days.”

Jamir decided that she was going to release this EP in the summer of 2019, and said she was eager to get her music out there.

Jamir recorded four songs over the summer and two more right before winter break, mixed and mastered the EP, and finally released it in early January.

“There are six songs on the EP, and they are all at least two years old or older,” she said. “The oldest song on there is four years old. My goal for my first year of college was to release an EP, and those songs fit the mold of what I wanted the EP to sound like. It was a big part of my semester, and I’m really happy about it.”

Drawing from personal experience, Jamir’s goal was to inspire.

“The theme is about being okay with where you are in the moment, even if where you are is not the best place,” Jamir said. “Every song is about appreciating the bad times and growing from those experiences. That was the mental state that I was in when I wrote these songs, so it worked out to be a cohesive body of work.”

Creating an EP isn’t without its challenges.

“At times, it was overwhelming,” Jamir said. “There were days where I didn’t care about school and I just wanted to focus on the EP, but I had people around me to help me find a balance and to set my priorities straight.”

But now that her music is out, she realizes that those challenges weren’t in vain.

“It was very nerve-wracking to put it out, but every time I put something out, I realized that it was always worth it,” she said. “Everyone who has heard it has been so sweet. It’s cool to hear how people react to it and knowing people can relate. Knowing it could have inspired someone makes the music purposeful for me.”

Jamir has garnered a great response from her music, but she is far from done. Taking a turn from her first EP, Jamir is working on a new project.

“This EP was melancholy, whereas the newer songs I’m working on are showing more growth in myself, my confidence and more of who I am,” she said. “I was a different person four years ago, so this new project will have a different outlook.”