"I wouldn't have nothin' if I didn't have you."

James Patrick McGill, 21, is a senior at Slippery Rock University studying Music Education.  He was born on May 10th, 1992 in Washington, PA to James and Nancy McGill, and has one sibling, Megan McGill.  What makes him stand out from most music students, is that he auditioned and received a contract to sing with the Pittsburgh Opera.

PMEA Region I Choir 2010.  (Left to right) Pat McGill,
Ben Bugaile and Sarah Boice.  Sarah and Pat went to
Washington High School together and performed
together frequently.  Ben is a friend of theirs from
church, community theater and PMEA.
(Photo courtesy Pat McGill)

McGills's singing career began early in life, and it in part because his mom, Nancy, is a music teacher and pushed him to sing at a young age.  He would sing at church events, and his first musical, Annie, was in 5th grade.  That following summer he began performing with his local community theater.  While in school he attended a number of Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) events, where he met a number of professionals in the field.

In the August of 2010 shortly after graduating from Washington High School, McGill auditioned to be in the music program at Slippery Rock University.  This is when he first met his voice professor Dr. Colleen Gray.  When asked in an email interview about McGill's voice development since he began attending SRU, Dr. Gray responded "A bass voice takes a long time to mature, reaching its peak when the singer is nearly forty.  As an 18 year old, Pat already had an unusually resonant, beautiful instrument, but he needed time for his interment to grow as he developed his singing technique.  Now, his voice is fully resonant and expressive throughout his range.  Pat loves his big voice, but sometimes he pushes the instrument a little too hard.  Pat's strength, beyond the fact that he has a wonderful instrument, is that he is very musical and expressive."  His first paid singing position came on his first day of college after his first meeting with Dr. Gray.

SRU Marching Pride Saxophones 2011. Pat can be located on the left hand
side, third person down from the top. (Photo courtesy Pat McGill)

Students in the music department are required to take lessons to help improve their singing/playing ability throughout the course of their time at SRU.  They are also required to attend events and participate in ensembles as well.  While attending SRU, McGill has been involved with numerous ensembles, including SRU's Marching Pride, and performed in a number of settings, both educational and professional. Fellow student and friend Eric Garber, a senior music performance major at SRU who has known McGill since high school, commented on his dedication to his fellow classmates.  Garber also discussed the music program and the amount of work required for an education major.  By the end of a music education major's four years at SRU, they will have taken a total of 84 classes (Note: As a journalism major with two minors, I will have taken a total of 48 total classes in my four years at college. Just to put that into perspective for you).

Slippery Rock University students and alumni who performed
in the Pittsburgh Opera's Aida in October of 2013.
Left to right: Eric Garber, Zach Wood (2010), Bob Simoni (1973),
Pat McGill, and Kevin Adamik (2013).

In May of 2013 McGill, Garber and two female SRU students were given the opportunity to try out to sing with the Pittsburgh Opera.  The auditions were held in Pittsburgh, and they were done with Mike Trawka, the chorus master with the opera.  Dr. Gray has performed with the opera before, and scheduled the auditions for her students.  She had the following comments when asked why she chose McGill as one of the students to attend, "I have sent a number of students to audition for Pittsburgh Opera over the years.  Since I sang with the opera, I am friends with Mark Trawka and I know what voices they are looking for and what kind of preparation the students need.  I sent Pat and a few others to audution when I felt the voices were sufficiently developed and their technique was strong enough that they would not hurt themselves singing such demanding, big music.  They also needed to have a sufficient study in the Italian, French and German language diction to independently learn the opera parts.  Pat had all of those qualities.  I knew that Trawka would love his full bass notes."

Both McGill and Garber were contacted shortly after the auditions, and informed they had a spot on the roster.  That means that they could get a show contract for future Pittsburgh Opera shows.  According to Garber, they do not contract out for a whole season, they only contract out individual shows.  Garber and McGill both got positions for Aida, and McGill got a second position in The Magic Flute.

Pat singing during the classical portion of his
senior recital on November 2, 2013.
(Photo courtesy Pat McGill)

For some people, being a full time student on top of singing professionally could be an overwhelming amount of work.  McGill on the other hand, said he enjoyed the experience and he was able to handle it because he likes to be busy.  He said that they had rehearsals two to three nights a week, and he would typically leave Slippery Rock around 5:30, and some rehearsals would go from 10:00 to 11:00 at night, which meant he wouldn't get home until around 11:00 pm or 12:00 am.  "Most people would find it very challenging to keep up with," he said. "But for me, I tend to thrive more when I'm busy.  I like to be involved in a bunch of things at the same time because it keeps me from getting bored.  I really like doing a lot of things at once, but believe me, it is nice to relax once its all over!"

On top of his opera preparations and classwork, McGill decided that he wanted to do a senior recital, which is not a requirement for music education majors.  He also decided to add a twist to the line up, by performing some of his favorite movie tunes for the second half of the evening, on top of the classical performance he did at the start.  This is something that is not commonly done in a senior recital.  Typically, a student performs a handful of songs that they have done successfully over the course of their four years at the university.  Dr. Gray commented "I typically do not allow students to devote so much for their senior recital to more popular music, but this project was so close to Pat's heart.  He sang the film music quite well."




In his time at SRU, McGill has been a very dedicated and hardworking individual, and on top of all this has spent time giving back to the community as well.  He works at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Butler, PA singing with the chorus there.  "Pat always looks to take on new things.  He's active with the church choir and he is also an active member in Mu Phi Epsilon, and is always looking for more performance opportunities," Garber added.

So what comes next for McGill? As of right now, he will student teach for his final semester at SRU.  He is expecting to graduate May 10, 2014, and then move onto the next stage of his life.... Whatever that may be.

J. Pat McGill - A Musical Timeline on Dipity.

Biography Proposal - Life with a Musical Twist

Pat McGill, September 2013 photo shoot.  Photo courtesy
Heartfelt Memories by Heather

For my biography assignment I would like to do a biography on Pat McGill, a senior music major who is currently singing professionally with the Pittsburgh Opera.

Pat is a music education major at Slippery Rock University, and grew up in Washington, PA.  I intend to document milestones in his singing career, and highlight achievements that have gotten him to where he is today.  I plan to use a combination of videos and photos, and if possible would like to use the Dipity Timeline program used in the "When You Wish Upon A Star" assignment I did earlier in the semester.

Pat's current position with the Pittsburgh Opera was recently covered by the Rocket, and I feel like a multimedia piece like this could accent the article written by Rebecca Marcucci very well if done properly.

Pat McGill, September 2013 photo shoot.  Photo courtesy Heartfelt Memories by Heather

This is Why We THON! #FTK

This Meograph goes over a very brief history of Penn State's THON organization, and highlights the 2013 event as well as the preparations for the 2014 THON event.  Due to the fact that it is a student run organization, the interviews included focus on the students who help run the event.  It covers their experience from committee members to dancers, and canning weekends to the 46 hour dance marathon.

THON is a huge event on the Penn State campus, and is known for being one of the largest organizations of its kind.  Capturing it as the incredible organization that it is has proved to be a challenge, but I hope that this gives you a glimpse as to what it is, what it stands for, and the incredible people that Penn State students are.

Below, you can find a photo slideshow with various THON photos that I was not able to place in this video.  Later on this week I plan to have some full length interview clips that also did not make this video for anyone who is interested in watching.  Consider it your "extras"! :)

Also, I want to give a shout out to all of the students who let me interview them as well as borrow photos and videos to make this story possible.

WE ARE!!!

A sneak preview....

A sneak preview of what is coming... 

This is why we THON

For our next big project, we need to come up with a timeline of an event, organization, or person and create a video project using the "four dimensional story telling" program, Meograph.  After attending Slippery Rock University's Up 'Til Dawn for Saint Jude's Childrens Research Hospital event last week, I would like to expand upon the idea of student run organizations that benefit pediatric cancer, and do a piece on Pennsylvania State University's Panhellenic Dance Marathon, more commonly known as THON. 

Penn State's THON held in the Bryce Jordan Center in the spring of 2013. The event raised $12,374,034.36, breaking the previously held record. (Photo credit: Elizabeth McClure)

From THON 2013

Elizabeth McClure (left), sophomore on the Rules and Regulations
 committee with senior Emily Wolf (right) who was one of the dance
participants in 46 hour event to help raise money for the Four
Diamonds Fund. (Photo courtesy: Elizabeth McClure)

In this video, I plan to focus on the student's current preparations for the event coming up February 21-23, 2014, as well as highlight pieces of last year's event.  This is an event that is run by the students, which is why I intend to focus on them and their input. They recently went through the interview process to join committees, and some have given member positions within the committees. 
I intend to talk to the following students for the video:

• The head of one of the Rules and Regulations committees
• Rules and Regulations committee members 
• A member of the Morale committee 
• Morale committee captain
• New members who will be experiencing their first THON event
• Students who have previously worked THON
• PSU Alumni, Emily Wolf, who was one of the dancers at last year's event

On top of talking to the above listed people, I want to do a brief history on the THON organization, starting from its conception in 1973, when it benefited the Butler County Association for Retarted Children.  The history would highlight some of the major events that have gone on since the creation of the program. I would also like to include as much information as possible in regards to this year's event, and have that be the concluding segment of this Meograph.  This is something that could potentially be updated as events go on throughout the planning and preparation process.

Video courtesy of the Penn State YouTube account.

This is a video of inside the Bryce Jordan Center during the THON event.  The floor is filled with students who are dancing for the cause as well as Four Diamonds family members, while the seats are filled with students, and others who attend the event.  

For those who do not know what THON is, or what it does, and think I just posted photos and videos of a packed event center, here is a brief piece about the event:

THON is a completely student run event that raises money for the Four Diamonds Fund, a fund that strives to aid children battling pediatric cancer.  Each year, Penn State students sign up to be on committees that play some important role in the 46 hour dance marathon.  They begin working in the Fall, which is also when some of their fundraising starts.  Students travel in groups to various locations both inside the state of Pennsylvania and outside the state.  They also send out donation letters to try and get donations via mail from friends and family members across the globe. 

On THON weekend, Four Diamonds families are invited to join the students, and participate in the two day dance marathon, held in the Bryce Jordan Center on campus.  At the end of the event, the total is calculated, and presented to the crowd live (last year's video can be seen below this paragraph).  People who can't make the event are encouraged to participate by watching on the live stream online!

I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night!

Photo courtesy: SRU's Up 'til Dawn
Facebook page

Slippery Rock University is one of 230 colleges that participates in Up 'til Two (or in this instance, Up 'til Dawn) for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  This year's event was held in the Aebersold Student Recreation Center from 12:00am-6:00am on November 9, and students were allowed to sign in at 11:30pm (November 8).  The event was preceded by Azucar Salsa Band and Dance, which also collected donations for the event.  Students who did not register prior to the start of Up 'til Dawn were allowed to register on the spot.  Many organizations had teams who registered together, and would be participating in various events throughout the duration of the event.



Environmental Science major Shannon Wright said that this is not the only event that will be held to raise money for St. Jude's on campus.  Currently, they have over 350 participants, and have raised around $25,000, and their goal is $75,000.  The Up 'til Two organization, which became an official campus organization in November 2012, has raised over $70,000 in both 2010 and 2011.


You could search #stjudeutd at any time during or after the event and see all the tweets and photos that students were publishing about what was going on throughout the morning.

Athletic Training students Sara M. and Kristen Zaitz talk about their expectations for the event and what they did to prepare for it.

Students meet up in their teams or as individuals and begin the sign in process. 
The far table on the left was for registered teams, the table in the middle was for registered individuals, and the table on the right was for people who still needed to register.

Students who did not preregister were allowed to register before entering the event.
Student workers had laptops available with the registration site already open and ready for
 students to use.  Once they registered, they went to the team sign in or the individual sign in.

"Why Do We Fall, Mr. Bruce?"

"...So that we can learn to pick ourselves back up."

So here is a little more information about me for you all.  Radio wan't something I dreamed of doing.  Radio was something I listened to for years - primarily when I was driving, when I was going to bed, when I was cleaning... Alright lets get real, music and radio has always been a primary aspect of my life.  When it came to a potential career path, it was definitely overshadowed by my love of sports and television broadcasting.

Sports. Ask my boyfriend how upset I get if he tries to make plans when the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing a game.  Let me tell you how many eye rolls I get when I ask if we can put the Monday Night Football game on, regardless of who is playing in it.  If there is one background noise that is always on when I am in my apartment, its football, hockey, auto racing, and occasionally baseball.  When the olympics are broadcast,the TV would have to burn out before I would ever think of turning it off.  I just love sports.  In all seriousness, besides the cleanliness of my apartment, you'd think a guy lived there.  However, I am not a walking statistician.  I don't have every roster memorized.  I can carry on a conversation and hold my own, but I never claimed to be a walking encyclopedia of sports.

Music. I love music.  Any kind of music (almost).  I'm stuck in the 80's though.  Give me hair bands, give me rock.  My guitar "gods" are Eddie Van Halen and Ted Nugent (who by the way I got to see live for the first time ever this past summer. I was in heaven... almost. If only David Lee Roth could learn to sing...).  I love finding out facts about bands.  Like why on Van Halen's venue set up they requested a bowl of m&m's with all the brown ones removed.  Or that the song Welcome to the Jungle was written off a balcony looking over a city, and combined with a guitar rift that Slash had played years before just sitting at home.  I love stuff like that. 

Television. Something about it caught my attention.  Maybe just because it is what I had on all the time.  Maybe it was genetic, since my grandfather was a reporter.  I have no idea.  But thats what I wanted to do.  More than anything, I wanted to be Andrea Kramer. On the sidelines, interviewing players, updating on injuries, talking to coaches.  I wanted to be down on the field, in the action, and getting the story.

So what lead me to radio? An internship fell through, one that I thought I had.  I was given an interview after being told I didn't have a position, and it was almost the textbook definition of a bad interview - the worst part was it only lasted ten minutes.  5 of which wasn't even an interview, it was me hearing about how I wasn't qualified.  I was upset, I was frustrated, and I was left wondering "Is this really where I need to be? Is this what I want to do?"  After many talks with my family, I sent out an application to a handful of local radio stations not far from where I lived.  Basically saying "this is who I am, here is my background, please let me work for you".  Within 24 hours I had emails from three companies.  All of whom were interested, two of which didn't want to do anything until I was back in California... Which was a problem because paperwork had to be filled out before hand... But there was one person, who was willing to do an interview over the phone.

I prepared like I did for my first interview.  I had webpages open about the company, about all the radio stations, about the man I was interviewing, I was ready to go for this interview... Once it happened, I didn't need a single one of those webpages.  It was one of the easiest interviews I have ever had, it was casual, it was comfortable, and I had the position.  Not only that, but I was working with the morning show of the station I have listened to for years.  I was excited beyond belief.

From day one I was on the air with the guys, editing audio, and getting into it.  Honestly, I felt like a fish out of water.  Nothing at college had prepared me for a radio internship - I was completely equipped for television and writing, but not for being on a morning show.  I dove in, and I loved it.  I loved the people I worked with, I loved the things we talked about on the air, and this past summer, I fell in love with radio.  I liked that if I didn't feel like doing my hair one morning, it was ok to go in with my hair pulled up.  Lets get real, whose going to see you besides the people you work with? I liked that on the morning show, you could bascially talk about anything and everything.  Nothing going on in sports today? Thats ok - don't beat a dead horse.  Talk how Pearl Jam is slowly relseasing new information in a unique way on their website.  Not only that, but do it live while they're doing it.  I liked the flexability, and the fact that a morning show is just like having a conversation, and anyone who listens can chime in and add to it.  The even better part is - you don't have to read off a teleprompter.  You say what you wanna say, and word it how you want, in the moment.  No scripts.  Pure, conversation.

Was this what I thought I wanted to do with my life? No! Not even close.  If you would have told me coming into college that I would land a radio internship the summer before my senior year and that I would probably have laughed and said "yeah, right!".  Now, I can't imagine not doing it.  Sure, I was upset and frustrated after what I had my heart set on seemed like it just wasn't going to work.  Did I give up? Maybe.  I don't see it that way.  I looked at my options.  I decided that maybe thats not what I wanted to do my whole life.  I questioned that career path on a regular basis anyway, so maybe it isn't what I was meant to do. 

So why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up.  I wasn't in a great place after the train wreck of a first interview.  But after this summer, I think I found what I was meant to do.  I picked myself up, and kept moving forward.  Will I fall again, probably.  But hopefully I will be able to continue on like I have in the past, and find the next best route.  Life isn't always a cake walk, but thats what makes the good times even better. 

What I learned from this whole experience: never give up and keep pushing on.  Even if its not in the direction you wanted originally.