Southport Teen Wins Acoustic Songwriting Contest

They’re already accomplished musicians and singers in their own collective right. And when Greenwich singer-songwriter Caroline Jones saw their video performances of original songs, she knew they were winners of the first-ever acoustic music contest organized by Arch Street, Greenwich’s teen center.

The hard work of the dedicated musicians — Greens Farms Academy junior Julia McGonagle of Southport, Greenwich High School senior Julia Hava Rosenfeld, Middlesex Middle School eighth-grader Evelyn Sload of Darien and Greenwich High School senior Sophia Lanuza — will be showcased Friday night in a free community concert at Arch Street that will be headlined by Jones.

Jones met with the four girls Thursday afternoon for a jam session and sound check in preparation for the concert that begins at 7:30 p.m. May 29. Each girl will perform their winning compositions and McGonagle, the grand prize winner, will perform a duet with Jones. Being the grand prize winner also will mean that McGonagle will give a performance on Jones’ radio show, Art & Soul on Sirius XM’s Coffee House.

Jones, who is trained in the Bel Canto operatic technique and American Songbook cabaret style, said the girls were selected winners because of “the fact they all wrote original compositions gave them all a leg up. They performed with such passion, had great vocal technique and it was great songwriting.” Jones, who also is founder of The Heart is Smart Initiative, a curriculum and school tour that uplifts, inspires, and provides students a medium of expression through music, added, “Julia was selected as the grand prize winner because of this sweetness in her voice and the lyrics of her song … I really enjoyed it.”

The 17-year-old McGonagle composed “What I Do,” and plays the guitar, ukelele and piano and prefers to compose songs.” She said she aspires to work in the field of songwriting, having other performers sing her songs and eventually have her own recording studio.

Arch Street’s Executive Director Kyle Silver said the songwriting contest is the result of a collaboration with Jones, who also happens to be the daughter of Greenwich hedge fund founder Paul Tudor Jones.

“We reached out to her to have her play for the opening of Greenwich Grind, our coffeehouse, earlier this year. But she was on tour,” Silver said as he watched the Jones lead the girls through their rehearsal. In talking with Jones, the idea of a songwriting contest was born, Silver said. There were nearly 30 entries for the contest that was open to Fairfield and Westchester county teens.

“She is unbelievably talented — a tour de force who writes all of her own songs. It’s heartwarming to see this coming together,” Silver said. “My hope is to make this an annual event … this is a community concert for families and friends. We want to bring in all ages and to be able to see Caroline the week after she performed at the Greenwich Town Party, it’s a nice little end cap to that.”

Silver said he is expecting a full house of about 400 people for Friday night’s concert at the center, which happens to be the oldest privately funded teen center in the country that will be celebrating its silver anniversary next year.

The center is located at 100 Arch St. in Greenwich.

Photos: #1: from left, Julia McGonagle of Southport; Julia Hava Rosenfeld of Greenwich; Evelyn Sload of Darien and Sophia Lanuza of Greenwich, with singer Caroline Jones.

#2 and #3: Caroline Jones leads a jam session with the winners of the Arch Street Acoustic Music contest.

#4: Sophia Lanuza tries out Caroline Jones’s banjo.

#5: The Arch Street teen center.

Credit: Barbara Heins.