Shawnee School welcomes Christine Brewer
A Union County high school last week hosted a special visit by a Grammy Award-winning singer who is one of the top sopranos in the world.
Christine Brewer was welcomed during a visit to the Shawnee School District on Thursday morning, April 11.
Brewer, who now lives in Lebanon, Ill., is a Shawnee High School graduate. Since graduating from the Union County high school in 1973, Brewer has become one of the world’s acclaimed opera singers.
Some 400 Shawnee school students, along with their teachers and staff members, gathered in the Shawnee High School gymnasium for a presentation in which Brewer talked about her career – and even sang several songs.
She was welcomed and introduced by Shawnee School District No. 84 superintendent Shelly Clover-Hill.
“We invited her – and she came,” Clover-Hill said about Brewer’s visit to the Wolf Lake school.
Clover-Hill shared the following introduction with those who were gathered in the gym:
Christine Burchyett Brewer is a Grammy Award-winning soprano who was named by the BBC in London as one of the top 20 operatic sopranos of all time.
She started her career playing the violin and singing with her mother, Deloris Burchyett.
She sang in the chorus at Shawnee High School under music director Meta Cozby. Mrs. Cozby mentored Christine, or Christy, as everyone called her back then.
Mrs. Cozby encouraged her to sing in the musicals and in the madrigal singers and the choir.
Christine sang the leads in “South Pacific” and “The Sound of Music” when she was a student at Shawnee.
In 2014, the Lyric Opera of Chicago ended their season with a production of “The Sound of Music.” Her manager called Christine to say that they wanted her to sing the role of the Mother Abbess.
When Christine asked who else would be in the cast, her manager said that they told her they were not going to do the production unless Christine sang that role. So, she did, and she will sing the role again next summer with the Union Avenue Opera in St. Louis.
In 2015, Christine received a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame on Delmar Boulevard. There are over 100 stars on the Walk of Fame honoring famous St. Louisans, including Chuck Berry, Tina Turner, Ozzie Smith and Stan Musial.
Christine has sung in 37 states in the United States and has sung in 34 countries and on six continents. She has made friends in many of the countries where she has performed.
Her husband, Ross, a retired history and geography teacher, has also traveled quite a bit with Christine, as well as on his own. They both love traveling and have some very fond memories of their trips.
Christine and Ross’ daughter, Elisabeth, spent many years traveling the world with her folks, and she got used to hanging out back stage at opera houses around the world. (The Brewers’) grandson has also seen a few operas and concerts in his five years, and he loves music.
In 1989, Christine was invited to The White House to sing for the reunification of Germany after the wall came down. She sang in the Rose Garden for President George H.W. Bush and Barbara. Even his dogs, Millie and Ranger, made an appearance at the end of the ceremony. Millie sat on Ross’ foot.
Christine has sung for, and met, Queen Elizabeth in London when the Royal Opera House reopened after renovations. And she sang a private recital for Prince Charles and Camilla in San Francisco when they were touring the United States.
She has sung the National Anthem at all major St. Louis sporting events, and even sang for the opening day ceremony in 1999.
Christine has done a program with the Marissa, Illinois, Elementary School called Opera-tunities for almost 15 years. She has worked with the 6th graders, telling them of her travels and inviting them to hear her rehearse or perform in St. Louis with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
She travels around the United States and the world with a bear named Marissa Melody. Marissa Melody has been photographed with conductors and singers and instrumentalists all over the world.
She and Ross have lived in Lebanon since 1979. They met at McKendree University and got married in Bothwell Chapel on campus.
Lebanon has become her adopted home town and they even have a sign as you enter Lebanon which says: “Home of Christine Brewer, Grammy Award-Winning Soprano.”
On April 23 and 25, Christine will be singing Verdi’s “Requiem” at (Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau and Southern Illinois University Carbondale).
This 90-minute Mass is a monumental piece which she has recorded with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony and has sung with many orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Dallas Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, as well as the Florence and Rome Symphonies in Italy, and orchestras in England, Scotland and Germany.
She is very excited to tell you about these upcoming concerts and hopes you ask her questions after she has sung and spoken to you.
Clover-Hill also noted that Brewer has been honored as one of Shawnee’s Best for her outstanding achievements beyond high school.
“We are so glad to have you back home Christine,” Clover-Hill said.
Brewer opened her presentation with a back-and-forth sing-song which involved those in the gymnasium. She then sang a song in German called “Zueignung.” After finishing the song, she asked if anybody in the audience knew the language it was sung in. After an initial response of Italian, a correct answer of German was given. She said the song was about somebody giving thanks to a friend.
“That’s how I feel about meeting with my friends,” she added.
“I started singing...before I think I could walk,” she said. She sang at church, and noted that her entire family liked to sing. She shared that “Go Tell It on the Mountain” was the first song that she sang in public.
During her presentation, she also sang a song called “Mira” from the musical “Carnival!” and “Climb Every Mountain” from “The Sound of Music.”
Brewer encouraged the students at Shawnee to “follow your dreams...you just never know where they’re going to take you.”
Following her presentation, Brewer welcomed questions from the audience.
Questions covered a wide range of topics, including how she takes care of her voice, her favorite place to perform and her favorite place to visit.
In the event that she should come down with a cold, Brewer said she depends on homemade chicken soup – with lots of garlic and hot peppers – to make things better.
Brewer said that among her favorite places to perform are New York and London. She said her favorite places to visit have included Tokyo and Malaysia.
After Brewer had finished her presentation, Clover-Hill noted that the singer’s career accomplishments showed that “great things can happen in a small town.”
The singer was accompanied on her visit to Shawnee by her husband, Ross, and her grandson, Oscar. Marissa Melody the bear also made the trip, accompanied by a friend.
Ross Brewer voiced his appreciation to those in attendance for the assembly. “You guys were fantastic,” he said.