SU senior performs covers, original songs at local concerts

Like almost every Syracuse University senior, Morgan Cavalcanto is hoping to get a job after graduation. But if that doesn’t work out, the acoustic cover artist said she may just pursue music full time.

“I would totally be down for the struggling musician life, paying off loans and all that,” she said with a laugh.

So far, the public relations major has made a name for herself by putting a personal spin on some songs from the biggest names in music — such as Adele, Sam Smith and Maroon 5 — and then uploading them to SoundCloud. She’s also performed at venues around campus, gracing the stage at Funk ‘n Waffles multiple times.

Friends like Noelle Hedgcock, a fellow senior public relations major, appreciate her cover songs.

Since people constantly mispronounce her name, Cavalcanto chose the stage name Morgan Canto — dropping the first two syllables. Canto also translates to “I sing” in Spanish and Italian.

Cavalcanto said her love for music, and more specifically the guitar, began when she was in kindergarten in Marlton, New Jersey. Her teacher would play the guitar while singing about the weather, and she would go home and try to do the same on her sister’s violin.

“Of course, I broke a few strings since a violin can’t take violent strumming,” Canto said.

To put an end to these destructive jam sessions, Cavalcanto’s parents bought her a plastic guitar. It wasn’t until she was 10 years old, when she moved to a new school that offered lessons, that she began to began taking lessons on her uncle’s old guitar.

During her time in high school at the Girard Academic Music Program in Philadelphia, Cavalcanto started to do more with vocals. There, students are required to participate in chorus. On top of that, Cavalcanto began singing lead vocals in a cover band called No Idea, where she realized she enjoyed being the center of attention.

Cavalcanto’s music instructor had assembled the band from a bunch of his students into a group that had everything from guitar to trombone.

“It was a weird little band,” she said, jokingly. “We were deemed to fail.”

Cavalcanto was right — No Idea didn’t last long. They played twice at the Epiphany Italian Festival in Philadelphia, and then fell apart when members started to focus on getting into college.

Anthony Cedrone, now a film major at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, played piano for No Idea. He remembers being impressed with Cavalcanto’s creativity.

“She would come in and show us these original songs, which was impressive since we were just a cover band,” he said.

Despite the band’s short existence, Cedrone has fond memories of their time together.

After the demise of No Idea, Cavalcanto took interest in musical theater, playing a role in GAMP’s production of “Hairspray.” Besides that, she didn’t do anything music-related again until after her freshman year at SU. That summer, a combination of boredom and Justin Timberlake’s performance of “My Love” at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show inspired her to get back to making covers.

“I’d grab my keyboard out of the corner of my room and say, ‘Let’s do a cover song!'” she said.

When Cavalcanto got back to campus, she started playing at some open mic nights. This past fall, several groups on campus reached out to her asking if she would perform at their events.

Last semester, Cavalcanto was part of the social justice-inspired “Jammin’ For Justice” concert. The event was organized by junior political science and sociology major Alexis Rinck, who said the concert needed a performer who would bring a soothing voice to round out the range of sounds.

“We had rock bands and ukuleles,” Rinck said. “But we didn’t have Morgan Canto.”