Ten years ago, Kristie Campana took a sabbatical. She was teaching herself how to code, and quickly realized she needed a second project that was, in her words, less “frustrating and lonely.” 

So, she asked herself: “What is something that I’ve always admired that people could do? That I can’t do, but I feel like I could?”

The answer came quickly—music. At the time, Kristie was taking aerial lessons in LeSueur, and she discovered that her classmate Hanna Cesario taught voice and ukulele. They began working together and, soon enough, Kristie was “learning technique, learning how to project, learning how to find [my] voice,” she says.

When the time came for a performance, there was only one problem: Kristie hates being the center of attention.

It’s something she had to overcome in her early years of teaching. Nowadays, she’s the Program Director of the Industrial-Organizational Psychology program at Minnesota State University, Mankato, accustomed to presenting to large groups. But when she began her career at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, the nervousness that came with giving lectures to upwards of 150 students was palpable. 

The usual performance anxiety tricks didn’t work for her, and ultimately, Kristie came to her own conclusion. 

“You can only throw up before you lecture so many times. Then you have to get over it,” she states.

While experience eased her anxiety in the classroom, the prospect of singing for an audience reignited her nerves. Luckily, she found another solution. Kristie asked Hanna to teach her how to harmonize so they could perform as a duo and share the spotlight.

Before long, Kristie was not only performing harmonies but arranging them as well. In doing this, she discovered that jazz was the sort of “fun challenge” she was looking for.

One day, Hanna sat her down for a serious discussion.

“‘I am graduating you!’” Kristie recalls her saying. “‘[I’m] having too much fun performing with you, so I think that your time as a student is done, and I think we need to make a band.’” 

Thus, Uccellino was born. They perform Kristie’s arrangements around southern Minnesota and accompany their harmonies with the ukulele and the melodica—a piano-like wind instrument Kristie picked up along the way.

When arranging a new piece, Kristie begins with the same question:

“What sort of feeling or story do you want to tell with this song, with this music, and then how can the notes tell that story?” 

From there, she puts together her interpretation of the song. She figures out which words to emphasize, how to emphasize them, and tinkers with the range depending on who she’s singing with. She especially loves working in a dissonant harmony—when harsh chords clash only to resolve in a satisfying manner. 

“You have to really push through the discomfort of that crunchiness to get to where you’re going,” she says.

Recently, Kristie reached a musical milestone with support from Prairie Lakes: she recorded her first album.

“I would not have done any of this project without the grant,” Kristie says. Between the cost of the recording studio, musicians, and copyright fees, it’s no small endeavor. In addition to the financial support, Kristie notes that “[knowing] somebody else values this project was helpful, mentally.” 

To celebrate the album, Uccellino hosted free shows at Coffee Hag on April 12th and May 31st. Once the CDs are printed later this fall, they’ll host an album release party. 

Until then, Kristie is keeping busy with arranging, performing, teaching, and leading the I/O program. She is also involved with a new vaudeville group, Belleview Rendezvous, whose “proof of concept” event at Tremendous Brewing last winter was so successful it was standing room only. The group recently received a grant from Prairie Lakes, which they’ll use to put on their next show. Like Kristie’s album, it will be a wonderful demonstration of local talent, featuring a jazz manouche band, singers, aerial performers, and other entertainers.

“People in the area are so hungry for [the arts],” Kristie explained. “[Vaudeville] is very unique, so people are willing to come from all over to check it out.”

It’s that same craving for the arts that has kept Kristie engaged long past her sabbatical. When she started taking lessons ten years ago, she couldn’t have predicted all it would become. Bringing music into her life introduced her and her husband to “new people, new experiences,” and so much more that has “enriched our lives,” she says.

Stepping out of her comfort zone and embracing new challenges transformed her hobby into an essential component of her identity. Much like a dissonant harmony, her success is made all the more satisfying thanks to the discomfort and crunchiness that came before.

“How disappointing would it be if you were a virtuoso on day one?”

Individual artist grants are made possible from funds provided by the McKnight Foundation. Learn more here.