Apr 5, 2017 By Harry Funk 3 min read

A common malady caught up with Peters Township High School senior Mackenzie Mendenhall as winter break approached.

“She had a little bit of a cold over Christmas,” said Ryan Perrotte, her choral teacher. “And what’s funny is, you’d think that would hurt you. But not in jazz.”

Mackenzie devoted her break to learning and rehearsing material to audition for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association’s all-state vocal jazz ensemble. The somewhat altered condition of her throat aided in her employment of a technique called vocal fry, kind of guttural growl.

“It gives that feeling of true jazz,” Perrotte explained. “And for her, it just worked great.”

The PMEA’s selection committee apparently agreed, as Mackenzie’s renditions of three songs earned her a spot of one of just 12 mezzo-sopranos in the ensemble. She wasn’t as thrilled.

“I thought it sounded horrible,” she admitted. “I’m not going to lie.”

She certainly will accept the honor, though, and will perform with other top vocalists at 7:30 p.m. April 21 at the Warner Theater in Erie as part the PMEA’s All-State Festival.

Previously, Peters Township alumnus Nick Roberts made the ensemble as an accompanist on piano in 2015, but Mackenzie is the first vocalist from the school to be selected.

To audition, she submitted a video of her performing three songs that were assigned to her: Erroll Garner’s “Misty,” Cole Porter’s “What Is This Thing Called Love,” and George and Ira Gershwin’s “A Foggy Day.”

“We really didn’t get the material until very late, so much so that she learned it herself over Christmas break,” said Perrotte, who is the school’s director of choral studies. “I did not teach her anything.”

He helped her fine-tune her repertoire when classes resumed to start 2017, and Milt Barney, director of bands, recorded her submission in time for the Jan. 4 deadline.

“It couldn’t be enhanced in any way,” Perrotte said, including the use of a microphone. “They wanted to hear the pure voice.”

As far as using her voice, Mackenzie has been singing for as long as she can remember.

“I grew up listening to R&B and gospel music, and I just kind of imitated what I heard,” she said, referencing such influences as Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Frankie Valli, Elvis Presley and her favorite, Whitney Houston.

Although she sang in various choirs in her formative years, she didn’t really care for the experience until she reached high school.

“My freshman year changed everything, and I had so much fun,” she recalled. “I give Mr. Perrotte so much credit for that.”

Perrotte, meanwhile, has developed some creative opportunities for Mackenzie and other vocalists to employ a variety of talents, such as forming the Rowdy Rhythm choral ensemble and starting A Cappella Adrenaline as an elective course.

The resulting experience with learning and performing more contemporary music should serve an advantage for students like Mackenzie, who plans to attend Liberty College to continue her musical pursuits.

“She’s going to be ahead of the game, having a lot of different styles that other people don’t have,” Perrotte said. “There are opportunities out there for contemporary singers and jazz singers.”