Duke School Under the Oak Magazine, Fall 2018

CREATING...
BOLD THINKERS
Brooke Murgitroyd performing
on stage at Pali Adventures,
a performing arts summer
camp in California.
Not long after she
began taking singing
lessons, Duke School
sixth grader Brooke
Murgitroyd became
interested in writing
her own music.
Now, she has studio
recordings of two
original songs, a
musical in the works,
and notebooks and
finished tracks feature Brooke’s voice over piano
and a drum beat with backup vocals by Brooke
and Carrie.
In addition to the tight recording schedule and
on-the-spot changes and improvisations, Brooke
was challenged by a cough that kept her worried
about her voice.
“That was kind of a little bit of pressure on me,”
she said. “I was trying to get it perfect even though
I knew, obviously, I couldn’t make it perfect. It was
hard to just let myself loose and just sing.”
voice memos with ideas for future songs.
“I feel like there’s always [ideas] that I think of and
I’m like, ‘I wish that was a song,’” Brooke said.
“But then I can make it a song… It really helps me
be creative and express myself.”
Brooke was inspired to try songwriting after
hearing original songs by her singing teacher,
Carrie Marshall, and watching videos of
12-year-old America’s Got Talent winner Grace
VanderWaal. She performed one of her songs,
“Anymore,” as a fourth grader at a Duke School
Whole School Community Gathering.
Through a summer camp at Moonlight
Stage Company in Raleigh, Brooke recorded
“Anymore” and a second song, “Locket,” in a
professional studio. She said the songs reflect
her style—generally soft pop or “coffee house,”
but sometimes with a more driving tempo. The
In November, Brooke will perform in The Best
Time of the Year, a musical she is co-writing
with other singing students. The holidaythemed
story follows members of a “very crazy
family” competing to take charge of Christmas
arrangements while their mother is stranded in
France. Brooke’s brother, Duke School eighth
grader Andrew Murgitroyd, is also in the cast.
Brooke said she plans to share her recorded songs
with family and friends, possibly on iTunes or as
music videos. She also hopes to record more
songs.
“I really want to
continue doing that
because it was really
fun,” she said. “I would
love to complete an
album.”
8
UNDER THE OAK