This week’s featured artist is not your typical vocal major, not that I’m looking to generalize. However, I do think that you might be hard-pressed to find a voice student here that is brave enough to unhesitatingly name Mariah, Britney, and Beyoncé as her main sources of musical inspiration. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Rebecca Shorr.
Though the aforementioned artists might make one think that Becca is perhaps not a singer to be taken seriously, listening to this senior soprano powerhouse will make you re-evaluate such unfortunate stereotypes. And here’s your chance: Becca’s recital is tonight, Friday, Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. in Harper Hall. This event will feature a truly eclectic variety of selections and composers, from Rossini to Bob Dylan to a Hebrew prayer and everything in between. So if you like diversity and you like James Antony — who is sharing this recital slot with Shorr — and you like duets featuring both Becca and James, you really have no excuse to miss this one-of-a-kind recital.
Becca started singing at an early age, though thankfully she has moved on from the embarrassing tapes of her as a youth singing along to her favorite Raffi tunes. In fact, during the summer of ’07 she auditioned for “American Idol” in Philadelphia. Says Shorr, “I promised myself that if ‘American Idol’ ever came to Philly, I would audition,” and she certainly held herself to it. Even though she only sang for a grand total of 60 seconds, after waiting in line for 12 hours, Becca deemed the entire ordeal both worth it and an eye-opening experience — “I met and sang with the crazies you see on TV,” she said.
And next year? Though she’s keeping her options open and not necessarily focusing solely on musical careers, notes Shorr, “As long as there are karaoke bars open, I’ll still be able to give my gift to the world.
Artist Spotlight : Becca Shorr
