Up In Lights Singing Studio was formed by twin sisters, Courtney and Brittany Menegon. Their vocal gifts were passed down from their mother, who was classically trained and always had a love of musical ballads. They began singing at the age of four where they would don their hairbrushes and belt out tunes to artists such as Kylie Minogue, Spice Girls, Brittany Spears, to name a few.
The girls began singing lessons at the age of ten and were classically trained by a well known Australian Opera singer. Courtney had the mezzo soprano vocal type and Brittany was soprano. They continued on with their vocal training for two years, where they also competed in many Vocal Eisteddfods in the ACT/NSW region winning many accolades. Courtney was well known for her musical theatre performance of “Part of That World” from the Little Mermaid along with “Over the Rainbow” from Wizard of Oz, whilst Brittany was known for her beautiful rendition of “My Favourite Things” from The Sound of Music.
During their late primary school years they would often perform at school assemblies. Along with their love of singing they also loved to dance. They also had dance lessons in Jazz, tap and hip hop for seven years. Whilst they thoroughly enjoyed dancing it was their love of singing that really set their hearts ablaze and decided at that point that the time was right to start writing their own music and lyrics. Later in their teen years, their original work was based on life experiences, in particular the bullying they suffered during their high school years.
Once in high school, the girls would go on to perform in various talent quests and special event occasions. At the age of 16, the girls entered a local competition called ‘Battle of the Backyard Bands’. They co-wrote the lyrics and music to the songs they performed along with played their own instruments, with Courtney on keys and Brittany playing the acoustic guitar. They won their heat and commenced performing at gigs in the Canberra region. In the first 12 months they performed some 50+ gigs. Their acoustic performances were a combination of their own songs as well as covers. Most of their performances would see them playing their own instruments and showcasing their original work along with their amazing and diverse vocal abilities. They also teamed up with a well known Canberra band when the need arised for a full-band gig.
In March 2011 the girls were invited to perform at one of the main Canberra Raiders Rugby League games in front of a crowd of 16,000 people. They performed Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ along with an original piece co-written by both Courtney and Brittany.
In 2011, the girls were invited on several occasions to perform an acoustic performance on one of the main radio stations in Canberra. They were then featured in the Canberra Weekly, which is a free publication circulated to approximately 82,000 readers each week.
Late 2011 saw the girls heading off to Albury to audition for Australia’s Got Talent seeing them go through to the semi-finals in 2012.
During this time they also performed at the Southern Cross Club in Canberra where they performed their own show to ticketholders.
At the moment the girls have formed their own band called RubyIce in which they appeared on Channel Elevens Toasted TV, ABC3 Studio 3 and the Christmas Issue of TotalGirl magazine in 2013. They were also invited to perform at the first ever K-Wave Festival (Korean Cultural Festival) in Federation Square, Melbourne in 2013. Whilst they are working very hard on pursuing their own music careers they are very excited to be able to offer singing lessons, to help other people find their own voice and follow their dreams.
The girls began singing lessons at the age of ten and were classically trained by a well known Australian Opera singer. Courtney had the mezzo soprano vocal type and Brittany was soprano. They continued on with their vocal training for two years, where they also competed in many Vocal Eisteddfods in the ACT/NSW region winning many accolades. Courtney was well known for her musical theatre performance of “Part of That World” from the Little Mermaid along with “Over the Rainbow” from Wizard of Oz, whilst Brittany was known for her beautiful rendition of “My Favourite Things” from The Sound of Music.
During their late primary school years they would often perform at school assemblies. Along with their love of singing they also loved to dance. They also had dance lessons in Jazz, tap and hip hop for seven years. Whilst they thoroughly enjoyed dancing it was their love of singing that really set their hearts ablaze and decided at that point that the time was right to start writing their own music and lyrics. Later in their teen years, their original work was based on life experiences, in particular the bullying they suffered during their high school years.
Once in high school, the girls would go on to perform in various talent quests and special event occasions. At the age of 16, the girls entered a local competition called ‘Battle of the Backyard Bands’. They co-wrote the lyrics and music to the songs they performed along with played their own instruments, with Courtney on keys and Brittany playing the acoustic guitar. They won their heat and commenced performing at gigs in the Canberra region. In the first 12 months they performed some 50+ gigs. Their acoustic performances were a combination of their own songs as well as covers. Most of their performances would see them playing their own instruments and showcasing their original work along with their amazing and diverse vocal abilities. They also teamed up with a well known Canberra band when the need arised for a full-band gig.
In March 2011 the girls were invited to perform at one of the main Canberra Raiders Rugby League games in front of a crowd of 16,000 people. They performed Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ along with an original piece co-written by both Courtney and Brittany.
In 2011, the girls were invited on several occasions to perform an acoustic performance on one of the main radio stations in Canberra. They were then featured in the Canberra Weekly, which is a free publication circulated to approximately 82,000 readers each week.
Late 2011 saw the girls heading off to Albury to audition for Australia’s Got Talent seeing them go through to the semi-finals in 2012.
During this time they also performed at the Southern Cross Club in Canberra where they performed their own show to ticketholders.
At the moment the girls have formed their own band called RubyIce in which they appeared on Channel Elevens Toasted TV, ABC3 Studio 3 and the Christmas Issue of TotalGirl magazine in 2013. They were also invited to perform at the first ever K-Wave Festival (Korean Cultural Festival) in Federation Square, Melbourne in 2013. Whilst they are working very hard on pursuing their own music careers they are very excited to be able to offer singing lessons, to help other people find their own voice and follow their dreams.