MENOMONIE – Isaiah May is no stranger to the Menomonie music scene.

“I grew up playing gigs around the area so I have done events, weddings, my own shows, funerals, dances, recitals, you name it I’ve probably played it in this area,” May said.

A third-year student in a four-year program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass, the Menomonie native is scheduled to perform at the Spirit Room, Saturday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m.

“At my January 4 show people can expect to hear covers of some of my favorite songs, some new originals and some songs off of my EP that I put out earlier this month,” said May, who describes himself as “classically trained in violin, piano and voice, although the majority of my violin experience is in folk/Americana music.”  (Editor’s Note: To listen to May’s work, go to his Instagram account where you can find the link to his music in the bio.)

Isaiah always had an affinity for music, even while still in the crib, his mother Stephanie May said.

“We noticed Isaiah had a strong musical inclination by the time he was 10 months old.  He could easily hold a rhythm by that time,” Stephanie May said.  “We kind of wondered if we were going to have to channel that in some way.  Turns out we were right.”

May has been playing the violin since he was five-years-old, but the violin wasn’t his first instrument of choice.

“I actually originally wanted to play trumpet but some of my cousins went through the Suzuki method on violin and so they had a few violins laying around that weren’t being played ,” Isaiah May said. “So we got them for free and I started taking lessons from a family friend of ours.”

In addition to the violin, May took voice and piano lessons as a youngster. He also plays the mandolin and “a little bit of a bunch of others.”

When the homeschooler started to look at colleges, Berklee intrigued him.

“Berklee has always been a very forward-thinking, industry-focused school with great relationships with musicians and companies within the music industry,” May said. “Berklee is a very open-minded school with lots of very unique programs.”

May is studying a new major at the school – Independent Recording and Production, a major focused on the future of recorded music and the move from recording music in massive expensive studios, to being able to record equivalent work out of a home studio due to the advances in audio software.

“Currently my dream is to be a producer, co-songwriter and general collaborator working out of my own studio,” May said. “I love the collaboration process and I find so much joy from simply tossing ideas around with other people.”

May has been involved in music his entire life. How has he been able to hone in on the craft throughout his young life and decide to make it his life’s work?

“There were definitely many hard days where I had no motivation but my parents kept me honest and I have always loved performing so I’ve always practiced to give the best performance I can,” May said.

“My parents and teachers have been my biggest encouragers by far,” he added  “They are the ones who ganged up on me and pushed me to go to music school and whenever I’m home for break they help me find opportunities to play in the community.”

May has co-written and produced many tracks for other artists as well as playing in many artists’ bands. He released one original album entitled East Coast Island Postcard in 2022 and has followed that up with his latest work. In addition to studying the production side, May is also taking classes in voice.