With plans to leave California for Northwestern University in the fall, 18-year-old Alana Grossman will perform one more time in Ventura County on Aug. 8 at Camarillo United Methodist Church.
“My parents and I thought it would be a wonderful experience to have a senior recital to celebrate all of the work I have done over the past years as well as my going away to start a new chapter in my life,” said Grossman, a Newbury Park High School graduate and winner of the 2009 Los Angeles Music Center’s Spotlight Award for nonclassical voice.
“A senior recital is traditionally all classical repertoire, but my life has been full of musical theater as well as opera, so my voice teacher and I decided to split the program in half,” the Camarillo resident said. “One half is dedicated to more classical selections and the other half consists of mostly musical theater selections.”
The program will include “Monica’s Waltz” from “The Medium” by Gian Carlo Menotti, “The Light in the Piazza” from the musical of the same name, “Nuit d’Etoiles” by Debussy and “The Girl in 14G” by Jeanine Tessori.
“The audience might even hear an original song that I composed,” Grossman said. “It is completely family-friendly and should be a blast.”
Grossman’s love for music began when she was a child.
“I started singing with a teacher when I was about 6, first starting in piano lessons at age 5,” recalled Grossman, who has participated in many musicals over the years, including “Les Misérables” as Fantine, “The Pirates of Penzance” as Mabel, “West Side Story” as Maria and “The Sound of Music” as Maria.
“I participated in my first competition when I was a freshman in high school,” she said. “After a couple of years learning the ropes, I received a first-place prize in the L.A. Music Center’s Spotlight Awards for nonclassical voice. I also received a first place in the Southern California Vocal Association’s Classical Solo Competition in 2009.”
In May, she was awarded second place in the Kathryn Skatula Musical Theatre Scholarship Competition.
“Since then I have been concentrating on graduating and on preparing for college life at Northwestern University,” said Grossman, who plans to major in voice and opera and possibly pursue a double major in a language.
“My plans for the future right now revolve around Northwestern but in the far future after my four years are up, I hope to be on Broadway, on classical and opera stages around the world, to write my own compositions for others or a solo career for myself, and I hope to extend my acting career through films and television,” she said. “Basically, I want to do it all.”
The goal of her recital on Aug. 8 “is to compile and celebrate all the work I have done in the past couple of years. I am proud of the diversity, volume and range of repertoire I’ve studied, and this recital showcases some of my favorite pieces. I will be surrounded by friends and family who have seen me grow into who I am today. Singing for them and others will be a treat and hopefully as much fun for them as it will be for me.”
