Spotlight on the arts: Moriah Champneys

Moriah Champneys comes from a long line of professional musicians. 

Her great-grandfather, the Rev. James Murk, won the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in 1963 and spent the next 20-plus years traveling and singing with his wife and five children, who all played the violin and/or the cello. Moriah’s grandfather is a world-class violinist, and several aunts were professional musicians. Her mother also worked as a professional musician, so it’s no surprise that Moriah is very musically talented.

Her favorite instrument is the violin, but she also sings and plays the piano and harp. Moriah is a 13-year-old, 8th-grade home school student living outside Plains. Besides music, she is active in 4-H, showing a sheep, a dairy cow, and poultry at the Sanders County Fair.

After an aunt visited with her violin, Moriah decided she needed one too. She used money earned from selling her 4-H sheep to buy a three-quarter-sized violin. Two years later, she now plays a full-sized electric violin. She takes weekly violin lessons from her great-aunt via Zoom and piano lessons from another aunt in Chicago. Her mother says she never has to remind Moriah to practice—sometimes she has to ask her to stop!

Moriah’s favorite violin composer is Mozart, and for piano, Beethoven. She also enjoys contemporary violinist Lindsey Stirling and can play Stirling’s pieces by ear. Moriah shares her music and poetry at monthly Music and Poetry Nights hosted by her homeschool co-op. Her poetry covers feelings, nature, animals, scripture, and even qualities to look for in a future husband.

She plays with the worship team at her church and helps lead worship. Moriah dreams of becoming a professional violinist like her relatives but, for now, shares her talents with her community and church. Her advice to aspiring musicians: practice hard and don’t get discouraged—you get out of it what you put into it.