Aurora “Rory” Gibney-Krashen is a senior at HPHS and an accomplished vocalist. Rory has built a strong singing portfolio with roles such as Mama Morton in Chicago, Katherine in Newsies, and Vi Moore in Footloose. She has also sung in New York City showcases and summer intensives, and she currently participates in Concert and Chamber Choir. Rory enjoys a variety of musical genres, from musical theatre to classical opera. To her, singing provides a “gateway sharing what [the composers] intended to share with the world.” Along with being a talented performer, Rory runs an all-female a cappella group called Amandala, which recently competed in the International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA).
Rory credits her music teacher, Susana Leiva, for everything she knows. Susana holds a special place in Rory’s heart as the “most amazing person in the world,” and Rory shared that Susana helps her both musically and personally. Susana and Rory split their weekly lessons between vocal agility and practice. During these lessons, Rory works on skills such as breathing, vowels, and other aspects of proper singing technique.
Not only does Rory take lessons but last year, she majored in opera at a summer intensive with Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. She said it was one of the best experiences she had ever done. Rory spent her days at Interlochen focussing on classical voice, taking classes on topics such as the International Phonetic Alphabet, music theory, acting for singers, and much more. Rory shared that Interlochen was where she realized she is “a classical singer, not just someone who sings musical theatre.”
Rory’s musical involvement doesn’t stop with vocal performance. She plays multiple instruments, such as the piano and guitar. She continues to learn more about the music industry by independently studying AP Music Theory and focusing her WISE project on music direction. To other aspiring performance artists, Rory advises, “You can work as hard as you can and put your best forward, but the thing that will distinguish you as a performer is believing you should be there.”