By Suzanne Hodgson
Staff Writer

Emily Bauer of Kennebunk was always drawn to music, but it wasn’t until recently that she really found her own voice.
Bauer, an 18-year-old senior at Cheverus High School, has just been accepted to Loyola University in New Orleans, a music and fine arts college where she’ll focus on her jazz singing.
Jazz singing and New Orleans seem like a perfect match, but Bauer said her friends think she’s taking a big leap of faith.
 “They think I’m crazy, like, why would I go so far away, but that’s the kind of person I am. I go for it,” Bauer said.
It wasn’t just the New Orleans jazz scene that appealed to Bauer.
 “It’s the only Jesuit school with a music program,” said Bauer, “that was the deciding factor.”
Bauer is a devout Jesuit, a Catholic order that focuses on volunteerism and giving back to the community.
 “Music is a really big part of me, so is service work and faith,” Bauer said.
She is a member of the Haiti Solidarity Club at Cheverus, which focuses on learning about global poverty, and she has taken service trips to the Dominican Republic.
 “It helps me realize how lucky we are. They [Dominicans] have nothing and they’re so happy and we live in Americanand can have anything and there are so many unhappy people,” said Bauer.
Bauer got a first taste of the music industry she’ll study by working in a studio in Kennebunk during Thanksgiving break. Though she said she enjoyed studio production, Bauer was there to sing.
 “My dream is to one day make it big, but I don’t know how realistic that is,” she said. Bauer will study the music industry in college instead of at a conservatory, a more common career path for singers.
Bauer, with the help of her music teacher, Chris Humphrey, recorded a four-song album that showcased her singing for judges at Loyola. The CD includes “I Should Care” by Sammy Cahn  and “Good Morning Heartache” by Dan Fisher, Ervin Drake and Irene Higginbotham.
On the CD, Bauer’s voice strongly moves along with the melody in the off-the-cuff flow of jazz music.
“Jazz singing is really on the spot – it has to come naturally, said Bauer. “That’s what makes it awesome.”
Less than a month after her audition at Loyola she received notice she’d been accepted as a freshman next fall.
Bauer already is accustomed to auditioning. She has played the flute since she was in first grade, taught by a conservatory-trained flute teacher. As a Cheverus sophomore she was part of a state championship ensemble that accompanied five jazz singers.
After years of lessons Bauer saw how much fun her friends were having with the jazz choir and decided to give singing a shot. She tried out for the singing group during her junior year.
“I felt kind of burned out with the flute,” said Bauer.
Since then she’s won two state championships singing in the jazz choir and an all-state individual championship, along with plays and acceptance into the one-act drama challenge for Cheverus.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.