Class of 2020 Senior Spotlight - Elise Ebert

By Elise Ebert
Spotlight
June 12, 2020
Elise Ebert
Elise Ebert

1) What has been your biggest disappointment/hardship since schools have been closed for the remainder of the academic year?

My biggest disappointments would be missing my senior Prom, missing our choir’s Spring Show, and not having a traditional graduation.

2) What are your plans for the fall?

I will be attending the University of Virginia to pursue a double-major in music, with a concentration in vocal performance and speech communication disorders.

3) How have your plans changed, if at all?

I initially planned on going to a school where I could get a bachelor’s in music, which is not UVA. However, COVID-19 factored into my decision when I realized opera and art organizations all over the world are shutting down and going out of business. The arts are already such a competitive field to enter, and after this is over there will be even fewer jobs. So, I decided to go to UVA, where I can still study music and pursue opera but also have a really reliable second option with that double major. 

4) What is your passion?

My passion is singing, specifically opera. My passion itself has not altered in light of social distancing; however, I am now doing online voice lessons, online piano lessons, and online choir which is a little strange and more difficult. 

5) What are your hopes for the future?

My hope for the future is to become a professional opera singer. After undergrad, I want to attend graduate school to continue my studies in classical voice. Then, I hope to be accepted into a young artists program at an opera house, where I can begin to make a name for myself in the professional world. 

6) What are you most proud of about your school experience/best memory?

One of my favorite memories is performing in high school singing one of the soprano solos, Stetit Puella, in our music department's production of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. I love classical music, so it was really exciting to get a chance to perform that kind of work in front of my school.