Singer returns to SMC
Choosing a career path while in college is difficult, but before 2007 SMC alumna Lindsey Anderson could make that decision she needed to choose between her twin passions, biology and music. Anderson said she began her time at Saint Mary’s College believing she would one day become a neurosurgeon with her biology degree. Instead, she is now a mezzo-soprano opera singer with a Master’s degree in Music (Vocal Performance) from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a bachelor’s degree in music from Saint Mary’s. “I sang for the latter half of my senior year of high school in the choir for fun. I really couldn’t read music, but my parents always played classical music, so it was in my ear, I guess. I always had a healthy appreciation for the classical realm of music,” Anderson said. “I was always a science geek, so that’s what I had planned to do. I had a plan. I think I was in fourth grade when I said I wanted to be a neurosurgeon when I grew up.” Upon arriving at the College, Anderson took the pre-med route, a choice that she said she thoroughly enjoyed at first. Soon after, Anderson said she found herself wanting to be a part of the choir at the College. “I had wanted to try out for the Saint Mary’s choir since I had been in my high school’s choir,” Anderson said. “It ended up being a fit after I auditioned. I credit Dr. Nancy Menk for turning me to music. She encouraged me and told me that I should be a music major. Without her, I don’t think that I’d be an opera singer today. I am so thankful for her.” Anderson tried being a double major between biology and music at first, however, she found it difficult once her interests became more music-centered rather than pre-med, she said. “It did not work. It was because I was trying to balance the two and was giving all of the energy and work to music which told me that was what I wanted to do,” Anderson said. “I just got this opera bug and I would go to Moreau and check out almost all of the operas that we had and just listen to them. I loved them. I listen to opera every morning while drinking my coffee. It just excites me.” After graduation, Anderson had a lot of catching up to do since she only had about three and a half years of vocal study under her belt at the time of graduation. “The amount of vocal study I had up to that point was really not much compared to the people who have been singing since they were 12,” Anderson said. “I was auditioning for graduate schools and it is so different for applying. You don’t go and take tests and write essays, you go and sing songs and audition at all of these schools. I was still in my major- stage fright phase, but I was very well prepared.” Anderson received many acceptance letters to graduate schools, however, she ended up choosing to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music, a choice she said she believes was the right one. “I met some of my life-long operatic friends there. I think it was a very good decision for me to go there. I had a great teacher,” Anderson said. “We had what was called ‘Opera Workshop’ which prepares you for the business of opera for music majors like how to get auditions in the real world, getting an agent, business stuff like that.” After receiving her master’s degree, Anderson continued on to train as a young artist with Opera Western Reserve and attended such training programs as Bay Area Summer Opera Theater in San Francisco and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. “More recently, I have worked with Opera Fayetteville and Opera North,” Anderson said. “I have been gaining bigger roles even more recently. Just this past two years I have been singing leading lady roles. It takes time, with the type of voice I have, to mature.” As for any advice she has for the current music majors at Saint Mary’s, Anderson stresses that singing is a personal art form and students must always be passionate about their singing to succeed. “You have to love the art that you create and if you love it, other people will it too because they will sense the joy that you put into it,” Anderson said. “The biggest thing is just to love what you do. If you love it and you enjoy it, that’s all that matters.
highlights Barcelona defeated Espanyol 2-0.Barcelona are now 10 point clear of their rivals.Lionel Messi scored for Barcelona. Madrid: Lionel Messi continued his remarkable run of form as his second-half double, including an impudent free-kick, helped Barcelona continue their march towards the La Liga title with a 2-0 win over Espanyol. The visitors gave their city rivals a tough game at the Camp Nou, but Messi’s chipped free-kick over the wall from 19 yards and a late second kept the reigning champions 10 points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who thrashed Alaves 4-0. Messi has now netted eight times in his last four games for Barca, and leads the way in the La Liga scoring charts with 31 goals, 13 ahead of teammate Luis Suarez. “I had no idea he would hit (the free-kick) like that,” said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde. “I would love to say that we had planned it, but it’s not true, it’s up to him. He didn’t need my opinion and he scored.” It was a fitting way for the Argentinian to mark his 675th Barcelona appearance, which moved him ahead of Andres Iniesta into second on the club’s all-time list — 102 adrift of Xavi Hernandez.RELATED He made a low-key return to international action in midweek as Argentina lost a friendly to Venezuela, but Valverde was delighted it did not affect Messi on Saturday. “Messi is the same player no matter what team he is playing in,” he said. “He would be the same if he played in Australia… We are delighted to have him, it’s a luxury for me to coach him.” Barca struggled to break down Espanyol early on, with Messi, Suarez and Ivan Rakitic all wasting half-chances in the first period. Barcelona saw a penalty appeal waved away by both the referee and VAR on the stroke of half-time, and Malcom was denied just after the hour mark by away goalkeeper Diego Lopez as the Catalan giants grew frustrated. But Messi has been consistently unplayable this season, and he dinked in a wonderful effort from a set-piece despite Victor Sanchez’s best efforts to clear off the line. The three points were sealed in the 89th minute as Malcom ran clear on the breakaway, before cutting the ball across for Messi to sweep a trademark finish low into the bottom corner. Barcelona next visit Villarreal on Tuesday with a second successive title looking even more like a mere formality after a sixth straight victory extended their unbeaten league run to 17 matches. Atletico at least did not give up further ground to Barcelona as Diego Costa scored for the first time since November in an impressive win at fifth-placed Alaves. The Spanish international has struggled for form and fitness this season, but grabbed his second league goal of the campaign with a magnificent 11th-minute strike from the edge of the area, six minutes after Saul Niguez had put Atletico in front.
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Counselor David A. B. Jallah pulled no punches when he delivered to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf his comprehensive and no nonsense report last weekend on allegations by the National Security Agency (NSA) of money laundering, counterfeiting, illegal arrest and conspiracy to defraud , involving some Korean nationals, a Lebanese and the NSA. Counselor Jallah was head of a Special Independent Committee (SIC) constituted by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to investigate the matter. In his report to the President, Cllr. Jallah and his Committee recommended that the NSA operatives who were directly involved with the arrest of the Korean and Sierra Leonean nationals, and co-conspirators, be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution.The NSA operatives were unnamed but the Jallah Committee further recommended that appropriate administrative action be taken against those involved. The NSA is headed by the President’s step son, Fumba Sirleaf.The President received the Committee’s Report and immediately forwarded it to the Ministry of Justice for review and appropriate actions, including all of the recommendations contained in the report. These recommendations are to be taken into consideration consistent with law.The background of the case is that on July 8, 2014 some Koreans were arrested by NSA officers at a guest house on Old Road, Monrovia. In their complaint to the court following the incident, they alleged that during their arrest, their money, amounting to US$247,500 and other valuables, including their wallets containing money and credit cards, were confiscated by the NSA officers. This was done without a search warrant.In a release subsequently issued, the NSA claimed that the money seized from the Asians was counterfeit. But the Koreans maintained that the money had been transferred from their home in South Korea to the International Bank (IB) in Monrovia. It was upon receipt of the money from IB that the Koreans said they proceeded to the Old Road guest house where the NSA arrested them.In its recommendations, the Jallah Committee said administrative action should be taken against the five NSA officers involved in the case; that they be prosecuted by the MOJ; and that GOL refund to the Korean nationals the full amount of US$247,500 which they withdrew from IB on July 8, 2014.Though we have not yet seen the report, we think we can safely conjecture that Cllr. Jallah, being a reputable lawyer and dean of the University of Liberia’s Louis Grimes School of Law, must have contacted the IB to ensure that the money in question was legitimate and not counterfeit. After all, since Jallah headed a Presidential Investigative Committee, IB’s ethical principle of confidentiality did not apply.We believe the President, who has herself admitted that corruption in both government and the Liberian society is “endemic,” has an excellent opportunity to set an example by prosecuting the NSA operatives involved in offenses which clearly are in violation of the Liberian Constitution and ethical principles governing all government institutions.What is surprising to us at this point in time is that the Director General of the National Security Agency, Fumba Sirleaf, has not yet resigned, knowing full well how badly his Agency has embarrassed his own government, and more particularly, his mother, the President. Though he may or may not have been personally involved in the scandal, the fact remains that he is the head of the NSA and should, therefore, take personal responsibility for all that happened.Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)