Jada Soltau, daughter of Chris and Dan Soltau, is a Becker sophmore who recently won the Minnesota Music Teachers’ Association statewide voice competition. The young artist hopes to pursue a career in musical theatre. A recording of her winning performance is available at Facebook.com/HansenHouseOfMusic.
Singing
At five years old, Soltau started to attend local theatre camps. She discovered early on that she really loved to sing, and so began to take voice lessons.
As Jada progressed, she began to sing in competitions, though she never placed. She said it was great to get feedback from the judges so she would improve her skill.
Competition
The competition was held virtually, with all the singers submitting videos to be judged. When asked if she was disappointed to not perform in person, Soltau said although making the video helped her feel less stress about her performance, she still wished she could have performed before an audience.
“Given the choice, I always want to perform in person,” she said, “But it is what it is this year.”
Soltau said this competition was not only her first first-place win, but her first win overall.
“It’s so cool to be acknowledged,” she said. She was honored to compete against very talented peers. She thanks God for her success, as well as her voice coach.
Voice Lessons
Soltau attributed a lot of her success to the support she got from her voice coach, Heidi Hansen of Hansen’s House of Music. Soltau and Hansen have worked together for about eight years.
Hansen said, “She’s one of the best students I’ve ever worked with. Most people think, ‘if you can sing, you can sing,’ but Jada puts effort into improving every single day.”
Career Singer
Soltau hopes to major in theatre in a college with an excellent theatre program, such as the University of Michigan, or Northwestern in Illinois, among others. She hopes to one day be a musical actress, but for now she is happy to participate in Becker’s drama club, and other local youth theatre groups.
“I could never give up singing!” Soltau said.
