To an outsider, Carrie St. Louis ’08 may seem like your typical new Lower. However, she has already won recognition as one of the West Coast’s best sopranos. Hailing from Palm Desert, California, St. Louis has performed at churches, been paid to sing at Tennis tournaments, and has entered and excelled in numerous musical competitions. The Phillipian interviewed St. Louis about about her life, inspiration and passion for music. P: Why did you go into singing? CSL: When I was seven, my brother and I were in the play Oliver; I was the singing milkmaid, and for some reason I really, really liked it. So I kept doing musicals [and] I’ve done about 13 of them. I only started taking voice lessons three years ago. I’ve been doing music camp and all kinds of stuff in the summer and I’ve been taking it more seriously over the past few years. P: Who is your musical inspiration? CSL: I really like Celine Dion, and there’s a lady named Kristen Chenoweth [who is] a Broadway musical singer. I really like show tunes- that’s what I mostly sing. I’ve learned to play the piano and sing at the same time for four years. P: What music do you listen to? CSL: I listen to a lot of Coldplay! I like Jack Johnson, and I really like Christina Aguilera- just because of her voice, not because of her, you know. P: How’s Andover life so far? CSL: I really like it here. I mean, my dad went here and [so did] my brother. And ever since I was little I’ve always wanted to come here. It has basically met all my expectations and I am enjoying it a lot. I like all the people and all my classes are good. P: What are your goals here at PA? CSL: I want to know everybody’s name, be able to say hi to everyone on campus, to be a better singer [and] to learn more about sight reading. P: What groups or clubs are you involved in? CSL: I’m in Fidelio, Azure, and Chorus… and just a lot of singing [in general]. I’m [also] on the cross-country team, that’s pretty much it. With all the singing there’s really not much time to do anything else. P: How’s Fidelio? CSL: It’s like a small group of people who sing beautiful a cappella music, and it’s fun to sing because it lifts your spirit. It [also requires] a lot of sight reading, so it’s really good for me. P: What do you think of American Idol? CSL: I don’t know…the people that they have been choosing have not been really good. I have a friend who tried out for it who is an amazing singer and she didn’t make it; she didn’t even make the preliminary round. So, she said that you either have to dress kind of slutty, or have some weird thing about you, like a teddy bear on a stick. So, I don’t really approve of it, but at the same time I watch it a lot. Yeah, I’m an avid American Idol watcher. P: What would you like to be in the future? CSL: A singer! [It’s] kind of obvious, but it’s a big dream of mine to perform in front of a whole bunch of people. P: Broadway or… CSL: Broadway singer. P: If you were to add anything to Andover what would it be? CSL: I would add…more activities to do on campus on weekends. And a musical this year. That would be fun. All my friends are actors, theatre people. They all love theatre and they’re kind of bummed out that there is no musical and I am too… so it would be nice to have one. St. Louis has already made great strides as a talented singer, and is a valuable addition to the Andover arts community. With her infectious personality and unmistakable charisma, she will undoubtedly meet continued success in the future.
