Maya Walsmith ‘26 strives for self-expression through deeply personal storytelling and evolving, experimental composing. While music began as a hobby for Walsmith, it has since become a profoundly meaningful form of expression. A singer-songwriter, pianist, guitarist, and performer, Walsmith has explored a range of sounds, styles, and creative outlets both inside and outside the classroom. From songwriting and vocal arranging to live performance and collaboration, her music reflects a curiosity-driven approach to music that continues to evolve as she finds her artistic voice.
While describing her artistic influences, she explained, “The music that you listen to affects the way that you sing and the way that you write. It really changes based on what I'm listening to. I think that I’ll always go back to Lana Del Rey, for example. But at the moment, I think that those kind of inspos of mine are Hannah Williams and Minnie Riperton.” She added, “Hannah Williams has a very soul R&B vibe. And that's kind of what I’ve been trying to write more…I used to write in a very singer-songwriter way…but…my vocals are a little bit more showcased by soul and R&B songs.”
In September 2025, Walsmith released her debut Extended Play (EP), Waiting Patiently, an experimental project that blends expressive, emotional lyrics with soft piano and guitar instrumentals. She explained that the songs were not originally written to be released together. “I didn’t write those songs with the intention of making a project that I was going to release together, but I was more writing just to write.” Walsmith elaborated that she had still been “figuring out my process and still figuring out what [her] style was, what kind of songwriter [she] wanted to be.” Walsmith noted that she “[I]t’s kind of like a self-discovery thing.”
Waiting Patiently features seven songs, including “Silver Light,” her single that accumulated over 55,000 streams. When discussing her songwriting process, she explained, “One of the things that makes songwriting so exciting for me is that it’s different every time, and that’s what makes it so fun for me because I think I could really just do it for the rest of my life and never get bored.” She also noted, “The majority of the time it will start with a piano hook that I come up with and then add melody or something to it. I think that when you start writing as a main focus, you kind of will start looking for inspiration everywhere. Like, if something’s always kind of in the back of your mind and if you seek something out, you’ll find a little bit more of it.”
On January 28, the popular teen fashion brand Brandy Melville featured Walsmith on their Instagram account. The post included a clip of her performing an unreleased song, “Thunderbird,” along with a short interview introducing her to the brand’s audience. Walsmith remarked, “I think that it’s honestly mostly just because I post so much.”
“I think I look for opportunities a lot and send many emails,” she added, “Times you just have to take away the factor of embarrassment and just send a cold email and just take that chance. Then one day, it was really exciting, [Brandy Melville] DM’d me!” The collaboration gained over 1,300 likes, outperforming many recent artists’ features on the brand’s page.
At Milton, Walsmith engages in various opportunities to further develop her passion for music. She explained, “I’ve just taken a lot of classes here. Honestly, creative writing has been so good for me because I’ve been turning my poems into songs.” She continued, “I took Music Theory. I did Chamber Singers. I did an independent study in music history with [music faculty member Ted Whalen], so that was really fun.” She now takes Advanced Creative Writing and participates in Magus Mabus Music, musical theater, and Epic Acapella. Walsmith commented on the importance of being a part of Epic, mentioning the arrangements “were such a big deal for me because I think that it was my first time using BandLab, and I was layering my vocals and it made me much more vocally centric.”
Walsmith is currently working on releasing her debut album, which she describes as a more cohesive and vocally fitting project. The album will follow a floral theme and tell a continuous story, a new approach for her. The project features thirteen songs, and a single is planned for release in April. For this album, she hopes to establish a solidified visual to go alongside the music, “I really want to do a music video. I think that would be so cool. I have no idea how I would approach that, but I think it would just be. It’s cool to have like a visual.” She also mentioned that she is open to collaborating with visual artists, such as Raphael Rufino ‘27, to create an aesthetic for her upcoming single.