What's seen as mutually exclusive doesn't always have to be. For many adolescents a choice has to be made between a focus on athletics or commitment to artistry.
What's seen as mutually exclusive doesn't always have to be.
For many adolescents a choice has to be made between a focus on athletics or commitment to artistry. Yet, Foothills Composite Grade 10 student Emeril Bill-Mohagen is making no such distinction.
“Sports is kind of my dad (Scott's) side, he used to play Junior A hockey over with Drumheller and that's where I got the hockey,” Bill-Mohagen said. “The musical side is my mom (Lea's) side. She has an aboriginal background and there is a lot of singing.
“Singing is a way to thank the creator and is a key part of my culture.”
Emeril fell into a passion for music and started strumming on his own guitar by the age of eight and slowly began to learn how to sing and play songs.
Much of the music coming through the speakers growing up was from the classic crooners.
“With my grandparents, I was up there a lot and they used to play old music, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Louis Armstrong,” Bill-Mohagen said.
“I always wanted to sound like those guys and kept working at it and that's where I got my inspiration.
“It's that whole feel where you're connected to the whole song, it was very peppy, happy.”
While working on his vocal craft, the Millarville resident found time to stay active in sports in figure skating, lacrosse and particularly in hockey in High Country.
“I started playing pond around the age of six,” he said. “Just loved it and wanted to progress in that as well.”
The 6-foot-1, 207-pound stay-at-home defenceman skated with the elite team in the region – the Rocky Mountain Bantam AAA Raiders in the 2016-17 season.
“It was an amazing experience, the coaching staff, the parents, the support was amazing,” Bill-Mohagen said. “It was really good knowing you were with a lot of good defencemen. I had great partners.”
Working in partnership with a teammate or bandmate in the Foothills Composite jazz ensemble or choir brings about a lot of similarities.
“The differences are really just that you're wearing a lot of gear,” he said. “There is a ton of responsibility in both, you both have to encourage your teammates or your choir people, you've got to keep them up-to-date and make sure they're doing what they need to do.
“Both of the environments are extremely supportive. It's a great experience to be in both.”
The background in team sports gives the talented musician experience in teamwork to draw upon.
“It's a lot easier to connect with people. The hockey team gave me social skills because they're really accepting,” he said. “It's the same with the choir people.
“You need it for both things. In hockey you need connect with your D-partner and know what he's going to do next, you need to know where the forwards are going to be, if they like it on a forehand or backhand.
“It's the same with music. You've got to know how to harmonize, know how this person sings so you sound just like them and be one voice.”
With most of the music work taking place at the Comp during school hours and hockey being primarily an evening and weekend endeavour, Bill-Mohagen has managed to balance both along with his academic responsibilities.
He has no plans to choose one path over the other going forward.
In hockey Bill-Mohagen is looking to make the jump to the Midget AAA level while in music the plan is to follow his voice into a career and perhaps a spot on a popular television franchise in the short-term.
“I've always had a back-up plan to be out there on the road with the music,” he said. “That's kind of my overall goal and my ultimate goal is to maybe one day try The Voice. That would be kind of neat.”
