St. Louis High senior headed for Carnegie Hall
Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, January 29, 2020
- Photo Credit
Student will perform as part of 2020 High School honors Performance Series
Rick Hickman
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Olivia Rupert, a senior at St. Louis Catholic High School, said Sunday’s upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the 2020 High School Honors Performance Series “doesn’t feel real yet.”
“I guess when I get to the airport it’ll hit me really hard,” said the soprano singer, who has spent the last seven years studying vocal music.
Rupert will join students from 47 states, Guam, Canada, Bermuda, Hong Kong, Mexico, Qatar and South Korea for the elite performance. More than 18,000 students were nominated for the series.
A life-long lover of music, Rupert said her family always knew she had a special gift.
“My mom says I used to drive her crazy singing in the car when I was little girl,” she said. “It was the same part of one song, ‘Remember When’ by Alan Jackson.”
Recently, Rupert has trained under Colette Bulber Tanner, SLC choir director.
“(Tanner) always says I can do anything I could put my mind to,” she said. “Even if I didn’t think I was the best, I’m always trying my hardest to just be myself. Someone will always be better, but you’ve got to work with what you have.”
Rupert said she had to spend part of her summer vacation preparing for the audition.
Rick Hickman
“Keep on practicing, and you can work through almost anything,” she said.
Tanner said Rupert’s “determination” landed her a spot on the big stage.
“The thing with music is everybody can sing and enjoy music,” she said. “But in this world, you don’t necessary always find people who want to put in the work to excel. (Rupert) doesn’t give up, and she works really, really hard.”
Rupert will spend five days in New York with the other finalists, rehearsing with world-renowned conductors and taking in the sights of the city.
“I am looking forward to meeting other people who share in the same interests and talents as me and to seeing the city of New York,” she said. “This will be the farthest I have ever been from Lake Charles.
Rupert said she plans to attend McNeese State University in the fall.
“I will always keep singing in my life in some way,” she said.
https://honorsperformance.org/
