It takes guts to get up on a stage in front of a crowd full of people you don’t know and share your diary with them in song form—but that’s exactly what junior Antonia Duffield loves to do.

As a leader of Perfect Pitch, a member of the Camerata Choir, Glee Club, the band Channel Z, and a yet-to-be-named jazz/rock band, pop/folk singer and songwriter Duffield is no stranger to making and sharing music. However, it is her bravery in sharing her own art with others that sets her aside.

Duffield has been singing for her entire life, but it was once she started receiving lessons for both the guitar and the piano that she realized she could tell her own stories in music through songwriting. According to Duffield, she began songwriting in fourth grade, a practice which has always been cathartic for her.

“If I have ever had a conflict with you, you’re probably in one of my songs. Or, if I’ve ever liked you, you’re probably in one of my songs. I write songs about everybody,” Duffield said.

In one of her unreleased songs titled “Charades,” Duffield sings about the thrill of falling in love: “And/I’m flying a jet plane/Headed for the clouds/The stars seem closer/than the ground/Do you notice?/Cause I’m hoping/That maybe you could bring me back down.”

Duffield said that she began sharing her music publicly during the pandemic when she was just 14, performing three gigs every week at open mics in New Hampshire.

According to Duffield, publicly performing her music can be scary, but is worth it at the end of the day because it motivates her to continue writing new songs.

“Before every single gig and show that I do, I’m always in such a bad mood. Oh, I’m stressed, I’m mad, I’m anxious. I’m whatever. I just have the worst nerves,” Duffield said. “After I perform, I’m the happiest person ever. It completely transforms me.”

Although putting herself out there is not always easy, Duffield does so with gusto. And after releasing an extended play titled “Three Minutes Older” in 2021, she has only continued to grow both her skillset and ambitions.

“I’ve been getting into production again. I’m not very good at it, but I’ve been trying to produce my songs. At some point, I want to release an album,” Duffield said.

As Duffield amps up her music career, her mentors and friends get the privilege of witnessing it.

Music Teacher Dr. Driscoll has been teaching Duffield for several years. He said that her investment in sharing her music makes her unique and important to the school’s artistic diversity.

“All of the different backgrounds that people bring enrich the school, and all the different interests that people bring to the school also enrich the school,” Driscoll said.

Not only does Duffield’s work benefit the school’s community, it helps the people around her. Junior Ivy Bass said that watching Duffield grow over the past few years has been a moving experience.

“I take a lot of inspiration from her. She works so hard. She kind of has pushed me to do what I want to do with my life in the same way that she is so unapologetically doing what she wants to do in her life,” Bass said.

Not only has Duffield’s musical talent given her an outlet to release her emotions, it has provided her a journey to channel her ambition.

“In college, I want to double major. I want one thing to be music and one thing to be academic, so probably composition or production. I mean, obviously, my dream would be to just perform and write songs, and do that as a living,” Duffield said.

Bass has a strong expectation that her friend is destined for great things.

“I think she’s probably going to go find her little band. She’s gonna find people that support her in the future. I think she’s gonna put herself out there, beyond the school, which she has been a lot,” Bass said. “And I think she’s gonna be big. That’s what I’m saying. I think she’s gonna be famous.”