Maya McGinley: Singer Extraordinaire

Maya McGinley, a student at The Galloway School, has been passionate about music since she was ten years old. She’s taken professional voice lessons for two years and has participated in her school’s band and chorus whenever she could. These experiences have broadened her knowledge and outlook on her technique and music as a whole. 

She recently transferred from High Meadows to Galloway, and during this year she has participated in Galloway’s chorus ensemble and is currently working on the spring musical: Chicago. She finds Galloway’s arts program more interesting than that of her previous school because there are a lot more opportunities and departments for people to choose from. Not to mention, there’s no shortage of actors in the musical theater department.

Although she’s only had a couple of official periods to work on the musical, she already knows that she likes it more than chorus class. She wanted to do more than just sing, and the musical was a great mix of dancing, singing, and acting. How much better could that get?

Her musical experience doesn’t only lie in school productions, though. While only a freshman in high school, McGinley started working on a make-shift album with her friend Lena Mcbath. The project started in mid-October of 2023 and continued throughout the new year. After speaking with Mcbath about the album, she said that it was a perfect fit for both of them as she liked writing lyrics and McGinley liked writing music. Currently, they have three finished songs, and they plan to make many more. “We’ll just see where it takes us,” said Mcbath, about the future of their album. 

McGinley had a similar story to tell when asked about the potential album. Earlier in the year, before the project was started, Mcbath had shown McGinley the poems that she had written and the two of them mutually decided that they wanted to combine their skills into an album. McGinley would compose the music and Mcbath would write the lyrics. 

When asked about how it felt to be in the process of such a daunting task, McGinley responded by agreeing that it can be difficult at times. However, when the creative spark hits her, there’s no telling where she’ll go. It all boils down to simple steps that she follows. She works consistently. She writes when she has an idea. And she writes what she knows and wants to write about. These are recommendations that she gives to anyone who is being challenged by a similar goal.  

McGinley is incredibly talented and well-versed in singing knowledge. But that’s not all! She's also confident and has good composure when it comes to singing in front of her class. During a class period for working on the spring musical, “She didn’t even blink an eye, she just sang her stuff” said Ana Rowe, a classmate of McGinley’s who is also in the musical. The choral instructor, Nathan Medley, had just called on McGinley to sing part of an ensemble piece to review what the class had already learned. She didn’t back down or shy away when singing but instead showed how comfortable she was in her voice. 

Music is clearly important to McGinley. She’s had a lot of practice and guidance along her musical journey, and it has surely paid off. From participating in the school musical to collaborating with a friend on an original album of songs, music has always been a constant in her life. “It’s something that will always stay with me,” said McGinley.

It’s clear that she’s worked very hard to get to where she is in life, and it doesn’t look like she’ll be stopping anytime soon. Who knows how far she’ll get in the music industry if she puts her mind to it?

By Lucy Ringel