Katie Ann Mayhew, center stage
By Pat Waring
Published: July 10, 2008
Katie Ann Mayhew of West Tisbury returned home Saturday afternoon to a celebrity's welcome after singing with the Boston Pops at their gala July Fourth concert at the Hatch Shell Friday night. The 16-year-old Martha's Vineyard Regional High School sophomore won the first-ever Boston Pops High School Sing-Off at the finals on July 1 at Boston's Symphony Hall. She also performed with the orchestra at its holiday preview concert on July 3.
Although she had performed before some 500,000 revelers the night before when she brought the cheering crowd to its feet with her rendition of Stephen Sondheim's "Being Alive," Katie Ann turned shy when she saw the group waiting at the Vineyard Haven ferry dock.
Photo by Ralph Stewart
Proud grandmother Shirley Mayhew was first to greet Katie Ann with a hug as she walked down the ramp to the sound of sirens from a West Tisbury fire truck and police cruiser.
"And she's not even a sports team," said Shirley happily, referring to the tradition of greeting winning high school athletes with fire and police sirens.
"It was just so much fun," said Katie Ann about her holiday performance. "I thought I would be nervous but I wasn't. I just went out there and I was so excited."
Being on stage before a huge live crowd and a television audience of millions felt great, she said. "The only thing I was worried about was tripping on my dress...and I didn't."
Katie Ann joined her family for the fireworks later, topping off the magical holiday at a festive after party at the Copley Plaza with her many new Boston Pops friends.
The program features renowned jazz pianist Billy Childs and the Infiniti Brass Quintet. Mr. Childs, a Grammy Award-winning composer and performing artist, and the globe-trotting Infiniti Brass will present a program that stretches the conventional stereotypes of chamber music. It will include work by Renwick, Monteverdi, and Brahms (with chamber society director Delores Stevens at the piano), as well as a performance of Mr. Childs's own composition, "Elements: Water and Fire."
The concert is at 8 pm on Monday, July 14 at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown and Tuesday, July 15 at the Chilmark Community Center. Tickets are $30 at the door; students are admitted free.
"I almost feel like it never happened," said Katie Ann yesterday. "That one week was so different from the rest of my life." She said she is now looking forward to her more usual summer activities, attending Children's Theatre of Island Theatre Workshop and going to the beach.
Heavy weekend traffic and soggy weather on Saturday did nothing to deter several dozen well-wishers, including Katie Ann's fellow Minnesingers, other students, high school parents, and family friends who waited patiently at the Steamship pier in Vineyard Haven in the rain. Among them were former high school principal Peg Regan and West Tisbury Selectmen Jeffrey "Skipper" Manter and Dianne Powers. "This is great excitement for the Town of West Tisbury," said Mr. Manter. "She's our own hometown hero."
"Katie Mayhew was a shining star from the beginning," said Pops conductor Keith Lockhart in an interview about the Sing-Off competition on Channel 4 just before Friday's concert. She prevailed over an initial pool of about 250 entrants from across the state to win the coveted chance to sing at the July 4th event. Her victory on July 1 was the culmination of three semi-final performances, two of them with the Pops.
Photo courtesy of BSO
Photo by Ralph Stewart
