The sounds of a violin and a piano playing in unison echo throughout Remsen Christian Church, a nearby church in the community. Here Serena Guo and Leah Valentine, Seniors at Revere High School, are putting all of their years of practice together to make beautiful music. They did not stop there, though. They are now branching out even further in the world of performance, as they have created their own performing group named Duo Dolce.  

In Duo Dolce, Guo plays the piano and Valentine plays the violin. Their friendship started many years ago, and they have always shared a love for music. They put their love together to perform in front of audiences, specifically a local church and weddings. The two already had previous experience with performing after they auditioned, and were selected to play in the RHS variety show, which will feature their performance again this year.

Valentine has played the violin for over a decade and it has been a very important part of her life. She talked about how far back her violin experience began, and even recalled the first moment she decided she wanted to play.

“I’ve been playing for twelve years, and I started when I was four. . . . I think it was mostly my mom’s idea. I remember sitting on the couch and she asked me if I wanted to start playing music, and I didn’t know any instruments, so I just said [I would play] the violin,” Valentine said.

Similarly to Valentine, Guo also talked about how she first got into the piano because of her parents. 

“[It was] my parents’ decision. They thought I should have something extracurricular,” Guo said.

Valentine touched on how Duo Dolce came about. She explained that playing with Guo in the variety show showed the connection between them when playing, and this made them want to further their music career together. Valentine talked about some of the benefits that come from the experience.

“We just thought it would be fun, since both of us enjoy playing music, to do more of it. And also, that it would be nice to make a little bit of extra money,” Valentine said.

Valentine explained how Duo Dolce has provided her with an outlet where she can play a new genre of music. The change in songs has been refreshing and she enjoys getting to further her field of music.

“It’s nice to have a different change of the type of music I can play, because a lot of times for the pieces I play . . . it’s a lot of strictly classical, but it’s kind of nice to expand a little bit and play some songs that . . . I listen to,” Valentine said. 

Guo said their main ways of advertisement is through Duo Dolce’s Facebook and Instagram, but also connections at the church they play at. She mentioned how she hopes they can further their advertisement in the future.

“We do have social media . . . we’re also spreading the word through the members of the church. . . . Hopefully in the future, maybe if we can get an ad . . . that can be in a journal or something like that,  just to expand our platform,” Guo said.

Valentine had some helpful mentors in her life that made her the musician she is today. She noted her mom, as well as the pastor at the church they perform at, but she mainly highlighted her violin teacher. She described her teacher as someone who has pushed her to keep living up to her musical potential and helped her pursue this dream.

“I only started going to her two years ago, and she’s definitely pushed me a lot with [the] violin. I definitely think these past few years, I’ve improved a lot because of her. So I definitely do think that helped me to do this,” Valentine said. 

Valentine talked about how she has enjoyed getting to go through this with one of her good friends. Though they faced challenges, their closeness has allowed them to work through the tough times together and get where they are today. 

“It’s been really fun . . . we get distracted a lot when we rehearse, but it’s been fun. It’s just kind of a nice way to . . . always have time to catch up and hang out,” Valentine said. 

Guo named Valentine as one of the best parts of Duo Dolce. She talked about how she gets to bond with Valentine while working together to make music that they both have interest in.

“I think my favorite part is getting to work with Leah, because she’s obviously a super talented musician as well. And it’s just, really fun to be able to play together and work together on pieces that we both like and enjoy,” Guo said.

Guo touched on how most young musicians do not know where to go with their talent once they reach college. She noted that they wanted to put all of their years of hard work to use, and did not just want to leave it behind when they pursue their other aspirations.

“A lot of people play instruments, but what do they actually do with them? Because neither of us are planning to be music majors in college, and we don’t want to have learned this many years of an instrument, just to not play it anymore. So we thought it would be a really cool idea to continue it,” Guo said.

Valentine talked about her hopes for Duo Dolce and what she wants to see it evolve into. She wants to keep it going, even after Guo and her go their separate ways for college, and continue to perform at weddings.

“I would say my goal with it would probably be in the summer or spring, if we can just be doing weddings, maybe every week . . . and then hopefully, even after we go off to college, when we come back, I would like to keep doing that in the summers,” Valentine said.   

Guo mentioned the benefits of having this business at such a young age and how this could lead them to a future filled with music potential. She addressed how if they ever wanted to put themselves in the music industry, 

“I think it’d still be really good for both of us to put on our resumes to . . . build our own separate platforms if we ever wanted to become musicians competing with actual musicians. So it would be just a good experience to have,” Guo said.

Being a young business does come with its fair share of challenges, but Guo and Valentine will not let that stop them from their dreams. Guo addressed some of the specific hardships of running a small business, but also noted that the work will be worth it. 

“Inexperience is one thing. And also, lack of time, definitely college apps and everything, just school in general and other extracurriculars that we have. So it’s definitely been a challenge, but I think it’ll pay off in the end,” Guo said.

Amy Fagnilli, a teacher at RHS and the coordinator of the variety show, got to be one of many who experienced the girls’ music. She first crossed paths with Duo Dolce at the auditions, but got to work with them further at the practices, and finally at the actual variety show.

Fagnilli talked about how she knew right from the start just how special the two were together.  She talked about how meticulous their playing was and all of the performance skills they have.

“Immediately, even just at the audition, which is very casual, I was blown away at how precise and elegant their playing was. And then when they actually performed in the show, I just thought they did an amazing job. They were so polished. Their playing was as perfect as it could be . . . and I thought they had amazing stage presence,” Fagnilli said.

Fagnilli talked about the type of people Valentine and Guo are, and how their work ethic really shows how determined they are.

“Based on my experience with them as members of the cast of the variety show, I found both Leah and Serena to be very serious people, very dedicated to their performance. I felt like they had spent a huge amount of time rehearsing and preparing, and it really showed in the quality of their playing and I think that speaks to the type of people they are,” Fagnilli said.

Fagnilli talked about how this is quite the challenge for high school students to take on and how because of this, they will definitely get rewarded. She mentioned just a few of those rewards that come hand in hand with Duo Dolce.

“They get lots of experience as semi-professional musicians. I think they could get paid really well, especially when people see that they’re teenagers,” Fagnilli said.

Valentine and Guo have spent years preparing themselves for this opportunity, and are ready to tackle the musical arts world head on. They want to keep music in their lives as long as possible, and also want to be able to perform for people. They are still tuning all the details while also tuning their instruments and are always ready for their next performance.