By Chris Nafekh, Staff Writer

“Music should never be about yourself.” Megan Parker said this intently. “That’s what performance art can become really quickly, and that’s not what music is about. It’s about community… I think that’s the whole point of music, to bring people together.” Parker grew up in Hickory, N.C. Like most of her family, she started singing at a young age.

“My entire family are singers,” she said. “My grandpa was in a barber-shop style quartet, and we would always harmonize to the radio together. I remember at four years old I wrote a song with my mom. We called it ‘Beautiful Sunshine,’ it was a cute little tune.” At a young age, she started to write her own music, a prelude to her career path. Currently, Megan is studying classical voice at the UNC Greensboro School of Music.

“I enjoy it,” she remarked. “I believe it’s very important to have the technique. Then you can sing other genres in a beautiful way.” Technique, something of vast importance to any musician, is also something Parker has struggled with. “This past year has been rough,” she said. “I really felt like I couldn’t sing. The technique was a big source of frustration to me. I started to think I can’t sing, I felt like I was losing my sense of voice. I went into vocal therapy. I realized then, anyone can sing to some degree, it just takes practice.” Parker did not let frustration stop her from finding success. Now, she is one of few students studying under Dominick Amendum, musical director of the Broadway production “Wicked”.

This semester the university is offering an experimental class on musical theatre. Amendum, a Tillman distinguished professor and UNCG *alumnus has returned to his scholastic roots to teach the class.

“He’s been like a godsend,” said Megan. “He’s the nicest guy; I was floored by how personable he is.” Out of 60 auditions for this class, 12 people were accepted including Parker and Deonte Goodman. “It’s kind of experimental and so far it’s going really well.”

Parker speculates that if the students continue to show excellent progression, musical theatre could soon be offered as a minor at UNCG. “There’s a lot of talent at this University, but we don’t have a musical theatre program. We have a great theatre department, and all these talented people in the music building…”

Aspiring to write music professionally, Megan knows precisely what she wants and where she is going. “A lot of people have very lofty goals,” she commented, “like to be on Broadway or to be famous. I just want to be able to share what I write and have projects that I feel matter, that people can connect to.” Whether she ends up on Broadway, community theatre or music education, Parker is passionate about writing and sharing her art. “Music should be enjoyable no matter what it sounds like,” she said. “I guess ‘Beautiful Sunshine’ started something!”

And with every piece of music she writes, Megan comes closer and closer to finding her artistic identity. “Writing is like a journey: you start out writing really terrible stuff, like ‘Beautiful Sunshine,’ then you come across new and different things that you incorporate into your music. Then your music evolves, it becomes something you’re proud of.”