MC Alum Siobhan Connor as Elle Woods in Manhattan College’s 2017 production of Legally Blonde.
SIOBHANCONNOR/COURTESY
By Catherine Diakou, Staff Writer
Manhattan College’s popular performing arts program has left an impact on alum over the years, influencing job opportunities and life decisions of past students.
MC graduate Katelyn Connor, ‘14, majored in both English and psychology while making time to heavily involve herself in the performing arts program.
“I first became involved because I had gotten a scholarship for it, to be in as many different areas as I could be,” Connor said.
The performing arts program is extremely student-driven, allowing members to contribute as much as they’d like in creating new clubs and opportunities.
“We didn’t have an a cappella group and I went to Andy [MC’s current Director for Performing Arts] and asked if I could start creating this group [The Manhattones],” Connor said. “A lot of people were really interested and it kind of got the ball rolling from there.”
Andrew Bauer began his time at Manhattan College as a temporary choir director, later being asked to stay full-time beginning in the fall of 2012.
“I teach a lot of music classes including the album class,” Bauer said, “I also teach composition in orchestration, audio mixing and production, a bunch of vocal classes, as well as tutorial for pipe organ and different instruments. I direct the singers and the music ministry, and I am the interim director of the orchestra. I am also heavily involved with players as the music director.”
Many students felt they had gained skills from working with Bauer that they still use today.
Allison Powers ‘21 graduated MC as a history major with a music minor. She credits her inspiration to begin her performing journey to Andrew Bauer.
“I always had this secret interest in music,” Powers said. “I didn’t really find the courage to actually sing out and show my talents until I was in college and I feel like Andy Bauer really helped me with my confidence. I was not even able to publicly speak, I had a little bit of a stutter but without Andy I don’t think I would’ve been able to overcome that.”
Bauer shared that in music there is a more open space for students to work with the teacher.
“In music we’re actually working with the kids, I play music with them, we make music together,” Bauer said. “The relationship is more personal.”
Alum shared the lasting effects that getting involved in performing arts had on them. Siobhan Connor ‘17 majored in business management with a minor in performing arts. She shared how much her time in singers meant to her, mentioning the lifelong friends she had made there.
“My friends [from the program] go to karaoke every three months,” Connor said.
Students from every major participate in the clubs and apply the skills from performing arts to their lives after college.
“The students that are in performing arts here now have decided that they want to be engineers or they want to be teachers or work in healthcare, or whatever discipline that they have chosen, but that doesn’t make them love music any less,” Bauer said. “As far as their academic pursuits, it gives them a sort of mental contrast, it exercises another part of their brains, and that leads to great satisfaction and joy for them.”