Three Traverse City West Senior High School choral students will be in San Francisco in May vying with about two hundred of the other top high school singers in the nation for a bevy of scholarships and prize monies.
Hanna Brammer, Trevor Kolle and Kaleena Stewart, all seniors, qualified at one of 20 regional events for the Third Annual Classical Singer High School Competition semi-finals round. During the Classical Singers Convention in San Francisco May 24-26, ten finalists will be chosen to perform for judges and compete for scholarships to top arts schools in the nation as well as grants.
The three were among eight students from Traverse City who sang two pieces each at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on January 27. The competition is sponsored by Classical Singers Magazine and has gained traction among ambitious high school vocalists since it began.
"It was really steep competition,” said Brammer, who sang "Glitter and Be Gay” by Leonard Bernstein and "Morgen!” By Richard Strauss. "I felt kind of nervous because on my song I messed up some of the phrasing.”
Kolle, too, said he had to get creative at one point when lyrics temporarily escaped him.
"I made up some words, I admit it,” said Kolle, who studies privately with Lynne Church and hopes to attend either Michigan or Michigan State next year.
"I came to the second verse and I forgot words and just threw some in,” he added of his songs, "L'amante Spagnuolo” by Donizetti and "Whither Must I Wander” by Vaughan Williams.
Brammer, who also studies privately with Church, noted that the competition marks an earlier-than-normal shift from high school senior into the next phase of life. In addition, meeting the other top high school singers in the nation provides an excellent opportunity to network with others who share a similar passion and talent.
"It is during prom weekend, but I think it will be worth it,” said Brammer, who is auditioning for seven different schools, including Roosevelt University in Chicago, the New England Conservatory in Boston and Manhattan Conservatory.
Also an aspiring professional singer like Brammer, Stewart competed in the event last year in Philadelphia, before the magazine had regional qualifying events. She had a blast and decided quickly to do it again her senior year. Because she qualified in 2007 for the next round, she will be traveling to San Francisco twice this spring: first for an audition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and then a few weeks later for the Classical Singer Competition.
"I think we're as prepared as we can get and hopefully that's good enough,” said Stewart of college, who will also audition at schools on the East Coast and in Chicago. "We'll find out next fall.”
Stewart, who studies privately with Jayne Sleder, noted that the singing teachers chose the pieces for this event, selecting songs that highlighted their vocal strengths. All three will also use the songs for college auditions. She sang "O del mio Amato ben” by Marcello Giordani and "O Peace, Thou Fairest Child of Heaven” by Thomas Arne.
Stewart was pleasantly surprised to place and be going on to the semi-finals in May.
"After I got done, I really didn't think I'd done all that well,” she recalled. "[West] was well-represented and I don't think any other school took a quarter of the spots.”
"This was like your first gig you get, your first real [performance,] not where you're against people in choir,” added Stewart.