Joanna Peterson – Culture reporter.

The audience at senior Natalie Lindsey’s Feb. 21 student recital gave a standing ovation in the Vivian Bull Music Center, signaling the end of Lindsey’s performance experience at Linfield.

Lindsey sang 13 songs, ranging from Italian and German pieces to musical- theater numbers from “Into the Woods” and “Carousel.”

“The selection of songs she sang reflected her classical training and her experience in musical theater,” Professor of Music Gwen Leonard said.

Lindsey is the two-time winner of the National Association of Teachers of Singing award in the musical theater category.

“I love musical theater because the songs always have a story to tell, and it’s easy to find those stories,” Lindsey said.

After teaching Lindsey, Leonard said she was proud of Lindsey’s final performance.

“As an instructor, I live for this,” she said. “It’s the culminating event of what we worked on for the past few years.”

Lindsey said she appreciated the large audience, which included members of the music department and nearly all of Lindsey’s Sigma Kappa Phi sorority sisters.

“The recital was bittersweet,” junior Helen Kehoe said. “After two and a half  years of listening to Natalie sing and grow into her voice, it was good to see her be successful at something she loves. But at the same time, it’s sad that she won’t be on campus anymore.”

During her time at Linfield, Lindsey said she was consistently involved in music through the women’s ensemble, concert choir, jazz choir and opera workshops. She studied voice with former Professor of Music Anne Reed before Leonard replaced her.

“I hope she goes on,” Leonard said. “We tend to shut down, thinking the things we did senior year are over, but this should be just the beginning of her singing life.”