Saxony Lutheran student is hitting the high notes, preparing for her future

Paige Kiefner wants to be an opera singer. Even the neighbors down the road from her rural home outside of Fruitland know it.

The living room, she said, has the best acoustics for practicing.

"My dad yells, 'Batten down the hatches,'" she said, laughing.

Kiefner, who will be a senior at Saxony Lutheran High School, spends Saturday afternoons watching opera showings at the Town Plaza movie theater. She studies German and Italian, languages commonly used in operas. And while standing next to the piano in Judith Farris' living room, she practices daily.

"It just puts me in a good mood every time," Kiefner said.

She has put on public performances and is preparing for auditions at conservatories during the upcoming school year. At 17, her soprano voice glides over complex hallelujahs and hits the high notes. Kiefner has been studying with Farris, an artist in residence at Southeast Missouri State University, for four years.

Farris described Kiefner as having "a pretty little voice" when she started lessons at age 13. Since they began studying together, Kiefner's voice has grown quickly for someone her age, Farris said.

"She came in with the cup empty, I had to fill it," Farris said.

Kiefner, she said, has a gift and the work ethic to support it.

"Paige is adamant that she's going to have this life as an opera singer," she said.

Kiefner said she has her sights set on studying at a conservatory. She is preparing for auditions at schools like Juilliard, Eastman School of Music and the New England Conservatory.

"I would like to find some place where I won't get caught up in distracting activities that come with college life," she said.

She has performed in musical productions with the high school and participated in Mike Dumey's Starz on the Rise performance group last summer. But she said she likes the challenge of opera singing.

In preparation for auditions and her career, she tackled two other challenges by stripping away the action and costume of musical productions. She put on two solo recitals in the past two years, the most recent in May. She plans to hold another in the spring.

"For me personally, it is a lot more challenging," she said. "You are laid barren. All you have is how well you sing."

abusch@semissourian.com

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