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Elise Passamani ’02 at NCS/STA Performing Arts Banquet
Every year since 2002, NCS and St. Albans celebrate the achievements of their student actors, dancers, and musicians at the year-end Performing Arts Banquet. NCS alumna Elise Passamani ’02, who was the first NCS recipient of the Outstanding Performing Artist award in 2002, was the featured speaker at this year’s banquet on May 21, 2013.
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During her time at NCS, Elise was a Chorister and also performed as the female lead in the schools’ productions of South Pacific and Kiss Me Kate. At Wellesley she pursued acting, snagging a small role in the film “Mona Lisa Smile," which she humorously recounted in her remarks.
Most recently, Elise has been a choral scholar at St John’s College, Oxford, where she is currently a doctoral student, writing a thesis about the comedies of Molière. “The singing I did in Oxford was easily the most challenging singing I’ve ever done, and amazingly, I found myself very much on equal footing with my fellow English singers, many of whom had trained as choristers at King’s Cambridge and similar institutions,” she said. “This was entirely because of the musical base I’d gained over the full nine years I was a student here [at NCS]. Rest assured, what you receive in arts training on the Cathedral Close is highly unusual and exceedingly refined.” You can read the full text of Elise’s remarks here.
During the Q&A session, a student asked her, “How did going to college change you from who you were in high school?”
Elise responded, “I don’t think college really changed me; you just become more of who you are. You have all sorts of opportunities that were never open to you in high school. When you’re away from NCS, it’s easy to forget how much who you are, academically and artistically, was formed by NCS. Coming back, I realize just how much a part of me this place is and always will be.”
We thank Elise for her time and generous remarks, and hope that other alumnae may return and feel the same about NCS!
Most recently, Elise has been a choral scholar at St John’s College, Oxford, where she is currently a doctoral student, writing a thesis about the comedies of Molière. “The singing I did in Oxford was easily the most challenging singing I’ve ever done, and amazingly, I found myself very much on equal footing with my fellow English singers, many of whom had trained as choristers at King’s Cambridge and similar institutions,” she said. “This was entirely because of the musical base I’d gained over the full nine years I was a student here [at NCS]. Rest assured, what you receive in arts training on the Cathedral Close is highly unusual and exceedingly refined.” You can read the full text of Elise’s remarks here.
During the Q&A session, a student asked her, “How did going to college change you from who you were in high school?”
Elise responded, “I don’t think college really changed me; you just become more of who you are. You have all sorts of opportunities that were never open to you in high school. When you’re away from NCS, it’s easy to forget how much who you are, academically and artistically, was formed by NCS. Coming back, I realize just how much a part of me this place is and always will be.”
We thank Elise for her time and generous remarks, and hope that other alumnae may return and feel the same about NCS!
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Elisa Passamani '02.
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Elise speaking with students at outdoor reception.
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Elise with Performing Arts Chair Ben Hutto.
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