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Ladue Publications

Ladue High School's student news site

Ladue Publications

Ladue High School's student news site

Ladue Publications

May Lorenz finds her voice

May+Lorenz+finds+her+voice

Sitting at the piano, May’s fingers travel up and down the keys as she hums softly. At her foot, patiently waiting to be played, sits a ukulele, its smooth, brown wood aged from years of being played. From fifth grade choir, a singing account on Instagram, to being a part of an acapella group; May Lorenz’s singing journey has been anything but ordinary. 

Fifth-grade choir class was where Lorenz first found her niche for singing. Then, in eighth grade, after a few years of just doing it for fun, she made her Instagram debut on @_singingbymay. Posting weekly videos singing covers while she played the piano or ukulele, Lorenz quickly gained a following of over two thousand followers. 

“I was too scared to sing to people in real life, so I tried putting myself out there online. I really enjoyed it and the positive feedback, whether or not it was even true, helped a lot,” Lorenz said. 

Later, in 2019, when May was a sophomore, she decided she wanted to be apart of Viva Voce, Ladue’s all-female acapella group. She first heard about the group in eighth grade after going to one of their concerts. Despite still being nervous to sing in front of people, she signed up. 

“It was a new style of singing that I had never tried before and it looked really cool,” Lorenz said.

 On the first day of tryouts, Lorenz had to sing 30 seconds of a song of her choice. Then, after getting the callbacks, she had to go in again and sing a snippet of another song. Finally, for the third round of tryouts, May had to prepare a part of Viva Voce’s hit cover “Greedy” and sing it with the group. After all of that, she got the call that she had made it. 

“It’s really fun being apart of the group. There is such good energy because everyone is so passionate about singing,” Lorenz said. 

However, Viva Voce isn’t as glamorous as it may seem. With 6 a.m practices every Thursday morning before school and rehearsing in seminar, it’s a lot of hard work. 

“I think memorizing the songs and practicing it without paper is the hardest part,” Lorenz said. The group has sung at multiple events this school year, from the National Anthem at sports games, singing “Greedy” at the talent show, to performing at the Ladue reunion brunch. 

“I didn’t know May very well until she joined but I’m so glad that she did because she blends so well with our group and makes rehearsals so fun,” Isabelle Edwards, a senior who’s been apart of Viva Voce for two years, said.

From being apart of the club, May has gained a lot of confidence in her singing. Although she still gets nervous singing in front of an audience, the girls in the group have helped to ease her nerves. 

“I love singing and being in the group, it’s such a good feeling to be making something so cool and knowing that my voice is apart of it,” Lorenz said. 

 

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About the Contributor
Riley O'Neal, Rambler Club Editor
Riley O’Neal is a senior at Ladue. This is her second year as the Club Editor and on Rambler. She enjoys spending time with her friends and outside.

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