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The Holmen High School senior sings almost everywhere — so much, she said, that others wish sometimes she would stop for a while.
“My parents say I sang before I spoke,” Rinehart said. “I like singing better than almost anything. I practice a lot, and that means I sing all the time.”
Practice has paid off for Rinehart, who has won the best female soloist award in all three contests she entered this year at show choir competitions.
Her solo, “Girl in 14G,” brought down the house when she won at the La Crosse Logan Showcase on Feb. 9.
The song is about a woman moving into a new apartment and having to put up with all the various sounds from musician neighbors. In a few breaths, she switches her style of singing from pop and Broadway to jazz and opera to capture those sounds.
“No way did I think I could sing that, but when I brought the song into voice lessons, it actually worked,” Rinehart said. “The difficulty is switching between characters so fast.”
Rinehart only sang for fun Saturday, as her show choir, Holmen’s Midwest Express, performed in exhibition at its own invitational
She is in her second year with Midwest Express and has been a member of the school’s vocal jazz ensemble for three years. Rinehart performed the role of the plant in Holmen High School’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors” and has a leading role of Nancy in this semester’s musical, “Oliver.”
“Meghan will sing any part I ask her to, and she can sing any part,” said Ruth Leithold, Holmen’s choral director. “She has an incredible range, from low alto to top high soprano, and a very musical and huge voice. She has a beautiful instrument.”
What does she like about her own voice? “I love that I can do anything with it,” Rinehart said.
Rinehart, who takes voice lessons from Steve Koch, said she plans to attend Viterbo University in the fall and major in vocal performance and biochemistry.
She said she would love to sing professionally some day.
“I have had the best of both worlds, with Mr. Koch as my voice teacher and Ruth as my choral teacher,” she said.
Rinehart said her favorite solo performance this season was winning the best female soloist award at the New London, Wis., show choir contest.
“My grandmother died the night before, and I did it for my grandmother, who never got to see me perform the song,” Rinehart said.
Logan, Tomah make finals
La Crosse Logan’s Class Act and Tomah High School’s Limited Edition were among the six finalists Saturday at the Holmen High School Midwest Express Gathering of the Stars show choir competition. Other finalists were Sauk Prairie’s Executive Session, Old Abe Show Choir from Eau Claire Memorial High School, Vision from New London, Wis., and Jam Session from DePere, Wis.
Logan’s Classy Ladies captured the women’s division grand championship, with Salem Singsations of West Salem, Wis., second. Katie Larson of Class Act won the award for best female soloist in a show.
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8227.
