The daughter of a Marine Corps officer serving at the George C. Marshall Center here earned two honors during a recent German music competition.
With a voice like an angel, Kassidee Kane, took first place in her age group and second place at the Jugend musiziert (Youths Making Music) event held in the Wetterstern room of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Kongress House.
Kassidee, daughter of Lt. Col. John Kane, was the only American and the youngest singer to compete.
“It was fun to sing in front of people,” said Kassidee, who performs in several languages. “I was actually very surprised; I thought my friend Oliver Kringle was going to beat me.”
The annual event, in its 40th year, had 148 children and teens singing and playing musical instruments. The youngest performer, a 7-year-old, played cello, while the oldest at age 20 played accordion.
“It is like a spelling bee of sorts where you start local and then (progress) to county, state, country, etc.” said Trish Kane, Kassidee’s mom.
For the competition, Kassidee sang Gershwin’s song “Summertime” from the play “Porgy and Bess, the Mozart aria “Welche Wonne” in German, Hayden’s “The Mermaid Song,” all accompanied by piano. For her final performance, she sang the traditional Irish folk song “Danny Boy” without accompaniment, based on a competition requirement.
Four judges – three of them from Munich, Innsbruck and Vienna – awarded her 21 out of a possible 25 points and first place in her age group.
Coincidentally, Kassidee was born at the German hospital in Garmisch, and as a newborn the local paper published a photo of her in a big yawn, predicting that someday she’d be a great singer.
Kassidee’s remarkable talent was evident at an early age, said her father.
“We noticed that there was something unusual about her voice when she was four,” said Kane. “Because I’m in the Marine Corps, we’ve moved around quite a bit, but we’ve managed to find good teachers to develop her voice.”
Kassidee started taking vocal lessons when she was 6-years-old in Moscow while her father served there. Currently, she studies under Herr Ferdinand Silhanek at the German Musik Schule.
Now 13, the home-schooled 7th grader is no newcomer to performing before audiences.
“She’s had experience on stage before … she sang a couple songs with an Irish rock band during a concert in Moscow when she was 7 after a member of the band heard her sing ‘Danny Boy’ at a St. Patrick’s Day party,” said her father.
“Kassidee sings mostly arias and classical music. She sings in several different languages and has had a passion for music since before she could talk,” noted her mother.
The young British vocalist Charlotte Church is one of her influences, said Kassidee, with Christian pop singer Rebecca St. James and country star Shania Twain also serving as inspirations.
Kassidee’s advice to other young singers is to concentrate on their music instead of the audience, and to just be your self.
“When you’re singing on stage, people don’t think about what you look like,” said Kassidee, who can be heard every Sunday at the Garmisch Community Chapel. “You’ve got to have a passion for singing. Singing takes a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”