Young composer lights up Pops Concert

Teresa Prince

The Pops Concert held Sunday Feb 15 was a huge success. The gynatorium was packed with parents, friends, and students all excited to see the annual winter concert. Twenty-two songs were performed including many solos and medleys from the musicals "Hairspray" and the "Wizard of Oz."

Among all the vocal talent exhibited at the Pops Concert, there was also outstanding instrumental and composing talent. The "Fabulous Fifteen" members of the band, Senior Maria Finocchiaro on keyboard, sophomore Lena Finocchiaro, senior Caitlin Lortz, and junior Katie McCabe on guitar, and senior Karly Jurgensen. Jurgensen accompanied on piano for six songs, two of which she composed herself.

Jurgensen has played piano and written music for a number of years now. She plays guitar, piano, and sings. She's been a member of Marian's Choir for four years and has performed in the last four musicals.

For this year's Pops concert, Bridge From the Past to the Present, she composed a solo for junior Megan Rauth and a quartet that she herself performed. "It was really nice, we haven't had a composer for a long time," said Ms. Cathy Pruitte, Choir Director.

The solo sung by Rauth was entitled "I'll Fall in Love With You." It was a jazzy love song. "Jazz was in my head at the time because it was what I learned about this summer at Berkley and I was experimenting with all the jazz chords; that's where that (song) came from," said Jurgensen.

Karly also composed a quartet that she accompanied and sang. The song entitled, "There's Something About You Boy", was sung by Jurgensen, Rauth, Lortz, and senior Anne Narzisi. "I wrote it about a month before Pops Concert and it started off as more of a ballad, but then Caite Lortz and I were messing around and changed it, and that's usually how songs come about. I'll be playing a song and hit a wrong note or a wrong chord and decide I really like it, it's kind of a chain reaction," said Jurgensen.

Karly is planning on attending Berkley in Boston next year. She's not quite sure about her major, "Basically they have anything you could want to do in music. I could be a manager, or I could be an engineer and make Cds or mix Cds; I definitely going to keep writing no matter what I do," said Jurgensen. "Ultimately I'd like to be on stage and perform, but if that's not in the cards for me then I'd like to be in a studio working with artists, as long as I'm working with music I think I'll be happy," she said.

Pops Concert was a great success thanks to the work of many people, including Jurgensen. Many students attended the concert both Sunday night and Monday morning. Junior Laura Brannen enjoyed the concert, especially Jurgensen's songs, "I thought they were very well written and it was really amazing that she could write something like that and have it sound like all those other songs that so high up," said Brannen.

Karly obviously has lots of talent and a great love of music. She has contributed to Marian's Choir these last four years and will continue to pursue music at Berkley next year.

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