Life of a Whitmore Student – Opera Singer

Cat H. Awarded full scholarship to the Chicago College of Performing Arts

“I started singing opera when I was eleven years old. I wish I could sing all day long, but as to not tire out my voice, I sing/practice about 1 1/2 – 2 hours a day. I do, however, practice music theory and go over my pieces for an additional hour, maybe even two when a competition is coming up. I started competing in eighth grade. In early 2017, I won second place in a competition for high schoolers down in San Marcos, Texas. So far, for my competitions, I have traveled to Chicago, New York City, Denton and even England. I will be going to Washington DC in May, 2020 for an upcoming competition called the Classical Singer Convention.

I do not know where I am going to college yet, but I did receive a full-ride scholarship to the Chicago College of Performing Arts. I have also applied to The Juilliard School, Oberlin Conservatory, and the Curtis Institute. In January, I will hear back from these schools if I have been granted an audition. Then after the audition, in April, I will hear back if I have been accepted or not. I really do have to wait quite a bit… The suspense is killing me.” 

Here is my college audition video

School “Anytime – Anyplace” works for me!

The flexibility of going to school “anytime, anyplace” has honestly changed my life. Before attending Whitmore, I was an anxious and stressed-out high school junior that wanted nothing more than to just get out and get in to a college where I could thrive. Now I am excited to do my schoolwork and I actually have time to work on myself and my talents instead of spending the majority of my time sitting at a desk in school. I tend to be quite busy with music and competitions as well, and I have time to to practice and travel and still do my school work. It really is a huge weight of stress that has been lifted off of my shoulders.

With all of that, I still do have some free time! I like filling that up with my job (a Starbucks barista), listening to K-pop, punk, and jazz music, hanging out with my family, and traveling all over the world.