Hear The Summer Sing

Used to be when summer break rolled around, I turned into an absolute failure of a singer. My mom would pick me up from NDNU after my last final exam and drive me back to Sacramento where I waited close to four months to be back in the Bay Area. Those summers, I found myself facing a unique predicament: shy singer syndrome.

I'm very weird about people hearing me when I practice. Even using the practice rooms at NDNU was challenging at times and I often opted for my dorm room instead. There's something about people who matter hearing you that makes singing daunting, while singing for complete strangers is often a piece of cake in comparison. My challenge was practicing at home.

My mom is a stay-at-home mom (domestic engineer, as she likes to call it) and when I was home for summer break, she was almost always around the house during the day, making it difficult to practice when I didn't really want her to hear me. Now, I do my best to work in practicing when my roommates, and especially my boyfriend, are out of the house, but if I have to, I just shut the door and try to forget that they are there.

And I have a very good reason to practice right now. My friend Megan Ollenberger, a student in the master's program, is giving her final graduate recital on Saturday (tomorrow). A couple of months ago, Megan approached me and asked if I'd be interested in singing a couple of duets with her on her recital. Well, that's just about the best complement I can get, to have someone want to sing with me, and recitals are probably my favorite type of performance because they are so personal, so naturally I was jazzed (and still am) to be a part of her big day.

Megan and I will be singing two musical theatre duets: "In His Eyes" from Jeckyll & Hyde and "Some Things Are Meant To Be" from Little Women. I'm always amazed to find how well my voice blends with other voices, and this is no exception. I have a feeling we're going to blow the audience away (in my humble opinion)!

So, if you wake up tomorrow and find yourself saying, "Gee, I'd like to hear some fabulous singing today," consider coming to Megan's recital. We'll be in Taube Center (the little chapel at the very front of NDNU's campus) at 2 p.m., ready to sing our hearts out!

What You Need To Know

What: Megan Ollenberger's Final Graduate Recital

Where: Taube Center, NDNU Campus, 1500 Ralston Avenue

When: June 18, 2 - 3:30 p.m.

Details: Program will include selections ranging from early opera to current musical theatre. Handel, Mozart, Puccini, Menotti, Sondheim, Gershwin and more! Attendance is free.