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By Dorothy Andries
-
’
, who will
be the soloist in Leonard
Bernstein’s “Jeremiah” Sym-
phony at Ravinia on Sunday,
August , “discovered” her
exceptional voice when, in her
senior year, she auditioned
for the high school choir near
her home in Lakewood, WA.
When the choir director heard
her, Bridges was immediately
urged to begin studying pro-
fessionally.
“My family enjoyed music,
all kinds,” Bridges explained
during a telephone interview
with
Ravinia
Magazine in late
June. “My Dad has a beauti-
ful voice, and he sang with
the Sons of under choir at
the Allen A.M.E. Church in
Tacoma. I began taking piano
lessons when I was , but no
one [in the family] was a pro-
fessional.” e new adventure
of voice lessons became a
revelation. “I just loved singing
so much,” she said. Even
though Bridges was captain
of her high school basketball
team and had college sports
scholarships on the horizon,
she audaciously auditioned at
top American conservatories
and music schools.
“When I auditioned for the
Manhattan School of Music,
I sang four songs, one each in
English, Italian, French, and
German,” Bridges recalled,
A mezzo
connecting
with the
moment
Photos by
Todd Rosenberg
RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 6 – AUGUST 19, 2018
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