Local Youth Vocalists Selected for Carnegie Hall Honors Performance Series
By Cole Goodwin
Two outstanding youth vocalists, Emma Ortega, and Wren Greeley-Havard from the Columbia River Gorge have been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City as a part of the 2023 Carnegie Hall Honors Performance Series. The young women are currently raising money on GoFundMe to cover the costs of this once in a lifetime opportunity.
The high school Honors Performance Series is a once in a lifetime opportunity for youth which “challenges elite students to perform at their best.” Selected finalists rehearse and perform under renowned conductors, and have the opportunity to meet other musicians and passionate vocalists their age from around the world. It also offers students the opportunity to experience the city by attending a Broadway show, and going to see some of New York city’s most famous landmarks.
Their music instructor Shawn Lutz, who has been teaching music since 1981 and nominated both of the young women to go said she couldn’t be prouder and more excited for them.
“I heard Emma sing for very first time last spring in a musical and I thought oh man she might need to take voice lessons from me, and we were only a week into lessons I said what do you think about going to New York? She has a beautiful singing voice and she’s in Jazz band and Wren is just one of those people that wants to continually better herself, and it’s just really encouraging to see that in these kids. Wren has greatly improved her stage presence and her vocals as a Junior in high school and I think she’s going to do a lot of good things in this world.”
They’ve been selected from over 10,000 other students that applied to perform.
“It is one of those pinnacle moments in your life. The first year in 2019 I went as a chaperone and being a musician I was in tears because I could not believe that I was actually there,” said Lutz.
“For the kids it is such an opportunity. They get to prepare for this big concert and experience singing in a large choir with over 200 students. And then they actually get to stand up on this stage where they don’t amplify anything and yet you can hear them plain as day because the acoustics are just phenomenal,” said Lutz.
Now that they’ve been selected Emma and Wren are waiting for the arrival of the music they will be performing.
“They have to have their music memorized before we go. They’ll be getting their music here next week,” said Lutz.
The music is designed to push the students.
“Last year they sang in Swahili and Latin,” said Lutz.
While that may sound challenging, Emma and Wren both had to submit performances of a song in Italian in order to secure their nominations, so they have at least some experience of singing in other languages.
To secure her nomination Emma had just one week to practice and perform a piece in Italian and send it in to be judged.
“I tried to learn Italian at one point before but that only lasted a couple of weeks so I kind of knew how to pronounce things but not what they meant,” says Emma.
Luckily her teacher showed her a method for learning a song in another language fast.
“Shawn went through and showed me the syllables and once I got the melody we added the words. And I had a voice memo that I practiced with a bunch the day before and that’s how I learned it.”
Meet Emma Ortega, a 15 year old freshman at The Dalles High School in The Dalles, OR.
Emma Ortega on her first day of High School.
She’s loved music and singing since she was “Really young. I started choir when I was in 1st or 2nd grade.”
“I sing. I play bass guitar, guitar, ukulele, trumpet, I used to play clarinet but that was a while ago, I can still play it but not perfectly. I tried to teach myself piano but I think I overdid it.”
Emma says she enjoys singing because of its expressiveness.
“It’s very fun and you can do a lot of things with it and there's a lot of different genres and you can always find something to relate to no matter what you’re feeling.”
Her best performance so far?
“Probably my first band concert in 8th grade. The endings to some of the songs were perfect and it just went perfectly during the performance even though we hadn’t perfected it in class yet,” says Emma.
Now she’s got an opportunity to top that…at one of the most famous venues in New York City.
“It feels very once in a lifetime to have this opportunity that not many people get. Being able to experience Carnegie hall and performing there and meeting a bunch of new people and seeing a bunch of new things is very exciting,” says Emma.
Emma says she’d like to pursue a career in musical theater if she can, and while she’s not totally sure what steps to take to make that happen this trip would be a pretty good step in the right direction.
Emma at home with her family on Thanksgiving.
Emma said she was grateful for all the people that had supported her.
“There’s so many people to thank, my aunts and uncles, and parents and grandparents, there’s a whole lot of people I know who have donated a lot for me to be able to have this experience and it’s so so amazing and I’m so grateful for it,” says Emma.
Emma’s parents Shawna and Ed Ortega will chaperone Emma and Wren’s plane journey to New York City and will get to attend the concert and other special events with other families that are traveling with their students.
“We’re very excited,” said Shawna, “Finding out that she was accepted has been a whirlwind. Now we have all these plans we’ve got to get taken care of. It’s been a bit of a puzzle.”
Meet Wren Greeley-Havard, age 16, Junior at Columbia High School in White Salmon, WA
Wren performs her vocals while Shawn Lutz plays a piano accompaniment.
“I started taking voice lessons from Shawn Lutz last year, but I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember,” says Wren. “I was a very musical child growing up. Mary had a little lamb is banned in my household because I sang it in the car so much.”
Her best (non-banned) performance so far?
“Last year I had to do a certification called Senior One through an organization called the Oregon Federation of Music Club. I had to memorize four different songs and I was very proud of that performance especially because I knew I was being graded and I felt that I did very well.”
But even more important to Wren than good grades on a performance is the enjoyment that comes from connecting through music.
“Singing is a very expressive thing for me. It’s something I use to express how I feel. It’s very emotive. It’s a really good way to connect with others. There is so much music in the world. The musical experience is international,” says Wren.
And how is she feeling about her upcoming performance to Carnegie Hall?
“I’m very excited.”
Her global perspective on music is also reflected in her career goals.
“I want to study International relationships and diplomacy,” says Wren, “And while music isn’t a career path that I’m taking, I feel that all this experience with singing and articulation is really going to help me with my career path.”
But she says that just because she doesn’t plan to be a career vocalist doesn’t mean she’s going to stop singing.
“I will continue to sing but I don’t plan to make a career out of it,” she says.
After all, one’s musical journey doesn’t have to end with high school.
But the future is a long way off yet, and in the meantime, she’s leaning into the joy of a shot at a once in a lifetime new experience where she’ll get to perform and see a bit more of the world she’s so interested in.
Wren hopes to get to see Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway in February. Photo Source: AladdintheMusical.com
“It’s very much a way for me to dip my toes into the water and I am very much looking forward to meeting all these other young people and other passionate young artists who are focused on making music people. And I’m looking forward to seeing a show on Broadway.”
Wren wanted to give a big thank you to all her supporters who are making her trip possible.
“I am very thankful for everyone who has been very able to donate and helped me through this endeavor and for the person who has supported me the most from a very young age: my mom. My dad is a musician, but my mom was the one who encouraged me to sing… and she really boosted my confidence. All my parents, my mom, my dad and my stepdad have all been very supportive of my musical journey and I’m very thankful to all of them.”
Receiving her acceptance letter was an emotional experience.
“I got a test from my mom saying check your email and I burst into tears and ran up to the barn to tell my step Dad and I was crying and telling him what had happened,” said Wren.
Wren’s parents are very proud of her.
“I’m pretty excited for her and proud of her for sure. She’s going to be surrounded by amazing musical professionals and be in the company of very passionate musical peers and to be at Carnegie Hall is just- oh my gosh!” said Brian Greeley.
However, the trip across the country to perform is not going to be cheap on the parent’s pocket books.
“I usually do a fundraiser but I haven’t had time this year,” said Lutz. “Which is why we’ve started the GoFundMe.”
The two young women need to raise the money they need by the end of December.
You can help send Emma and Wren to Carnegie Hall by clicking the GoFundMe link’s in this article.
