By ceumc on July 24, 2018

A Summer Recital

Heart-warming Homecoming

New York City may now be her home, but it was clear when she walked into our church on July 20, the roots of Lauren Yokabaskas’ life are still firmly implanted in Cape Elizabeth.

A spirited gathering of family, friends, members of our church, and the Cape community turned out for 90 minutes to hear how Lauren’s young life has evolved from singing the role of Tuptim in the high school production of The King and I to stepping onto the world’s stage as a up-and-coming opera star.

During her “A Summer Recital” at the church, Lauren sang opera selections from Berlioz and Strauss and musical theater selections from Carousel and The Sound of Music.

During her operatic selections, Lauren was accompanied by Eric Peppe on piano and Morgan Peppe on violin. Lauren and Eric first met when Lauren performed with Portland’s Musica de Filia Girlchoir and Eric was the choir’s accompanist. Beyond the choir, Eric played for all of Lauren’s competitions in high school and early college years. Morgan, Eric’s daughter, is studying violin in the pre-college program at the New England Conservatory. They live in Buxton.

One week after her performance at the church, Lauren will be traveling to Europe to train and perform with the prestigious Berlin Opera Academy. During her month’s stay at the academy, she will perform the leading role of Pamina in the classic Motzart opera Die Zauberflote. Though she has had some performances and many auditions in New York, this will be Lauren’s biggest opportunity to shine in the spotlight.

For selections from The Sound of Music at the church, Lauren was joined by fellow Cape High School graduate Genevieve Myers for the singing of My Favorite Things. Lauren and Genevieve once competed for the lead role in the Cape High School production of The King and I and both have performed for the Portland Players and with the Lyric Theatre in South Portland. Genevieve also now lives in New York City and is an actress.

Following the performance, a reception was held in Fellowship Hall and both Lauren and Genevieve greeted many members of the audience.

When she returns from Europe, Lauren has said she would like to schedule another performance at our church, partly because church member Gail Parker was away for this performance and it was Gail who was one of Lauren’s music teachers in middle school.

Thank you, Lauren, for a mesmerizing performance and good luck in Europe!