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HCC Profiles: Kelbaugh Works Hard on 'Second Shift'
As the longest-residing member of HCC's vocal jazz ensemble "Second Shift,"Kirby Kelbaugh has watched it grow and evolve.
Name: Kirby Kelbaugh
Major: General Studies
Claim to Fame: Longest-residing member of “Second Shift”
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“Second Shift,” HCC’s resident vocal jazz ensemble, is comprised of an assortment of talented students with excellent voices and friendly personalities. Kirby Kelbaugh is no exception. As the longest-residing member of the ensemble, Kelbaugh has watched it as it has evolved.
Kelbaugh was a junior in high school in the spring of 2007 when Second Shift’s director, Marianne Pastelak, requested that he join. Being 16 at the time, he was eligible to earn the extra college credits. Kelbaugh jumped at the opportunity and never looked back.
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“I've taught Kirby since he was in sixth grade at Aberdeen Middle School. We had a jazz choir there, and he picked up the technique and improvisational skills pretty quickly,” Pastelak wrote in an email. “When he moved to Bel Air and entered , I mentioned that he could take the college vocal jazz class, and he took advantage of the opportunity, and then entered a program at HCC when he graduated.”
Now four years later, the ensemble has grown, with members coming and going each semester. Kelbaugh's admiration for his teacher is one of the reasons he has stayed for so long.
“I’ve always liked her teaching style and personality. She [also] shares a love for jazz that I’ve always had,” Kelbaugh said. “I find I can put more emotion into jazz than other types of music. And I love scat—you just make up the words or song as you go. You can just open up and sing how the song makes you feel.”
Second Shift has the exciting opportunity to attend the Greeley Jazz Festival at the University of Northern Colorado, from April 27 to May 1. At the festival, they will have their performances rated and also partake in a series of workshops.
The vocal jazz ensemble will have more opportunities to entertain closer to home, too. Aside from their recent performance at Ripken Stadium, they will also be holding a concert May 13 in Joppa Hall at 8 p.m., J-108 Recital Hall 1. May 19, they will be performing at HCC’s 2011 Commencement ceremony.
Although Kelbaugh graduates at the end of this semester, he has been invited to return to the ensemble if he chooses.
“So, depending on where I end up in the fall,” he said, smiling, “I may end up being in [Second Shift] again!”
