Spring Showcase 2021

Mallory Barnes is 16 and has been studying with Erin for almost 4 years! Mallory loves to be on stage and most recently performed in Mamma Mia! at Orbit Arts Academy. One of her biggest dreams is to be able to study musical theatre and eventually get to Broadway! Mallory would like to thank her mom for always supporting her in everything she does. She would also like to thank her entire family and best friends for always encouraging her and being there for her. Last but not least, Mallory would like to thank her incredible voice teacher, Erin, for being there for her in every single way possible and always having her back. She also wants to thank her for just being such an amazing vocal coach. Erin is the BEST!!!!!!!!

Austin Beale is 18 years old and has taken voice lessons for 4 years. He is the Assistant Director and Bass Section Leader of Lakeside’s Advanced Mixed Chorus, and has attended All State Honors Chorus and All State Reading Chorus. He also has extensive knowledge of Pokemon, and his favorite Disney princess is Rapunzel. Austin would like to thank his parents and grandparents for supporting him, and is looking forward to attending Emory University in the fall.

Katherine Beale, 18, has been studying voice with Erin for 4 years. She won first and third place in her category at the Georgia NATS competition in 2019 and 2020 respectively, and won second place in Late High School Classical Music at the 2020 PACA voice competition. Katherine loves copy editing and politics, and she will be attending the College of William & Mary in the fall. She would like to thank Erin, her parents, her grandparents, her church choir director Kathy Fletcher, and her school chorus director Tom Fitzstephens for supporting her musical journey.

Logan Bjerke is 14 and an 8th grader at Marist School, and she’s been consistently taking lessons with Erin for almost a school year now. She plays piano relatively well for not taking piano lessons, and also happens to be really good at applying eyeliner. She did a couple of productions when she was younger (mostly in elementary school) but does not participate in musical theatre any longer. Logan is good at really specific voice impressions that most people would not know the original characters of, and loves to write stories. She also has a twin brother who is not nearly as cool as she is. Logan wants to thank her family for supporting her voice and getting her the lessons she needed to help grow her voice into what it is today. She is very thankful towards Erin and the time she takes to help her. Logan also loves her cat, Spatula.

Piper Bjerke is a sophomore at Marist. She has been involved in singing as well as musical theatre since she was very little, and has been taking lessons with Erin since she was in fourth grade. She’s been in musicals like Seussical the Musical, Into the Woods, and several more. She has participated in multiple All State Choirs as well as Honors Choirs, and placed second for classical in NATS this past year. She is incredibly thankful to all those who have gotten her this far. 

Olivia Casal is in the seventh grade and has been studying with Ms. Erin for about 2 years. In recent years, she has played Glinda in  The Wizard of Oz, Amaryllis in The Music Man, and a Bird Girl in  Seussical. She loves to sing, (obviously), and looks forward to singing more with Ms. Erin in the future. Many people have helped her get to where she is, but she would especially like to thank her parents and friends.

Jimmy Cyganek is looking forward to studying Computing in the Arts (music) and Vocal Music Performance at College of Charleston next fall. He’s wrapping up four crazy years in the Kennesaw Mountain High School STEM Magnet Program, where he was recently recognized as the Susan Gunderman Fine Arts Student of the Year and the pandemic granted him the unofficial title of KMHS National Anthem Soloist. He attended GHP (56) as a voice major and is a member of the KMHS Chamber Chorus, KM Capella, and Literary Team Soloist and Bass 1 in Men’s Quartet. He’s sung with the Georgia All-State Chorus since middle school and recently participated in the Metro Atlanta Sight Reading Chorus. He is also thrilled to be center marimba this season in the KMHS Blast Band, and a member of the Percussion Ensemble and STOMP! ensemble. He received his Eagle Scout Rank this past fall after presenting a series of post-lockdown socially distant concerts at a local senior residential community (https://tinyurl.com/4es96sph) He thanks his friends, family and all of his incredible music teachers for their guidance and support throughout the years.  

As a senior in the time of Covid-19, Arin has gotten used to the cancelled, zoom-modified, and distanced milestones. Though disappointing, seeing everyone around her work so tirelessly to maintain these traditions despite the obstacles has made Arin even more grateful for what we do have. Arin is so excited to share these two songs with you as she feels they epitomize her journey in theatre. The first is idyllic, wide-eyed, but alludes to feeling like a distant, unobtainable fairy tale, while the second is resolute, determined, and grounded in self-worth. Anyone in theatre can attest that the audition process is grueling, and success can be elusive, but over her four years working with Erin, Arin has learned how hard work can truly pay off. Arin is so excited to continue her journey at the University of Michigan as she obtains her BFA in musical theatre. Arin is so grateful to Erin for showing all that she could accomplish and pushing her towards her goals. Last but certainly not least, Arin wants to thank her family for supporting her endlessly throughout all her theatre endeavors over the years and constantly cheering her on

Natalie Graves is a freshman from Lakeside High School. She just started taking lessons with Erin this year. She loves all music but classical, musical theater and 80’s are her favorites. She has performed at the Shakespeare Tavern and is the lead singer of a band. She is also the soprano section leader of the Lakeside’s Int Mixed Chorus. Natalie is grateful for her parents and Erin who have supported and guided her in her journey of the music world.

Camila Hernandez is 14 years old. She is an 8th grader at Westminster. She has been in voice lessons with Erin for 3 years. She was the understudy for Elsa this year in Frozen. She has been in Charlie and Chocolate Factory(oompa loompa), Oliver!(Nancy), The Lion King(Banzi/Hyena), Alice in Wonderland(cook). Camila loves literature and reading. She recently developed a coffee dependency due to watching Gilmore Girls 3 times. She wants to thank her parents for supporting her throughout all of her musical endeavors, and she wants to thank Erin for teaching her to become better on and off stage. 

Matías Hernandez is a a junior from Westminster who has  been studying with Erin for a little more than three years. Last year he won first place at Southeastern Region NATS in the Lower High School MT Division, and this year was a finalist at SERNATS in the Upper High School MT Division. When he first started working with Erin she told him  he might have nodes. It turns out she was right! Thanks to her, he started going to voice therapy and was able to get a clean bill of health within a year!. She was also instrumental in helping him slowly change his technique and finally have healthy vocal folds. Matías would also like to thank his parents and his Chorus/Drama teachers that have helped him along his journey.

Hillis Kopecky is a high school freshman attending The Westminster Schools. He has been taking lessons with Erin for about a year. For the past four years, he's been in school musicals having prominent roles in The Little Mermaid and Singing in the Rain, played Simba in The Lion King, and Jack Scott in High School Musical 2. Hillis is also a member of the Westminster men’s a cappella group and the Westminster Ensemble. He enjoys playing football, lacrosse, and swimming for Westminster. If he’s not on campus, you can find him in a river with his fly rod. Hillis would like to thank his family for all of their support, and his great grandfathers for their gift of singing.

Bo is 16 years old and in 10th grade at Chamblee Charter High School (CCHS). He has enjoyed voice lessons with Erin Shepherd Murray since the beginning of his 8th grade year. Since starting high

school, Bo has been cast in Chamblee’s one-act musical performance of Sunday in the Park with George (Franz),  The Drowsy Chaperone, and Glenn Church’s musical production of Curtains: The Musical. Last year Bo was awarded Most Talented and received The Drama Award for his 9th grade class. Bo has also been cast in Hairspray (Link) and Legally Blonde Jr. (Emmitt), Once Upon a Mattress, Twelfth Night, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmations, and Lion King Jr.

Bo was inducted into the CCHS Thespian Troupe this year, and his thespy performance, “What If” from The Adams Family, was chosen by ThesCon to represent CCHS. Bo sings in the Honors

Chorus at CCHS, sings in the Glenn Church Youth Choir, plays piano, and swims.

Laurel is 16 years old and has been working with Erin for a year now! She has been singing in choir for 7 years and is proud to be in her school’s chamber choir, and has just finished doing her first ever show, Curtains. When she isn’t singing, you can probably find her curled up with a good book cuddling with her two cats or baking some cookies. She’d like to thank her mom for encouraging her to start lessons, and the rest of her family for enduring the strange warm up sounds she makes.

Madison Mueller is in the 7th grade, has been studying with Erin for close to a year and has been taking voice lessons for 5 years. Madison loves musical theater and was most recently cast as Ariel in the Forefront Arts production of The Little Mermaid. Other productions she has been proud to be a part of include: Alice in Alice in Wonderland, Flora the Fairy in Sleeping Beauty,  Mrs. Beauregard in Willy Wonka and Little Red Riding Hood. Madison enjoys performing as much as possible and won first place in Camp Skyline's talent show two years in a row. Along with studying voice, she enjoys playing piano, guitar, ukulele, flute, playing volleyball and tutoring younger students in Mandarin. She is thankful for her parents for supporting her throughout her musical and theater journey. She also would like to thank Erin for being such an amazing teacher and truly helping her with voice technique and bringing out the most melodic parts of her range.

McVey Peden is a sixth grader who was most recently seen in Holy Innocents Episcopal School's production of Godspell.  She loves theater, singing, and art itself. She would like to thank all of her supporters including her family friends and her brilliant voice coach. She is very excited to be here and hopes to continue the arts into the future. Please enjoy her first ever recital performance!

Moira Poh is a junior, and has been studying with Erin for the past three years. Moira was most recently almost seen as Carrie in Carrie the Musical and garnered a Shuler Nomination last year for playing Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family. Moira hopes to use her multi-cultural background to contribute a bit more to the bringing of diverse and unique voices to the stage. She would like to thank her family, friends, and of course her dog Cupcake for their support and love.

Grace Travis is 15 years old and this is her first recital! She was most recently seen in Lakeside High School's production of Mary Poppins. Grace likes to sing (obviously), reading, writing and goofing off with her friends She also likes Pokémon. "A total nerd to be honest, couldn't be her"(Grace talking to herself).