Redlands soprano Leah Lever has been named as this year’s RedArts young emerging artist winner.
Leah was awarded the scholarship to help further her musical studies and to establish her performance career.
Recognised as a role model for aspiring performers, she was also awarded Redlands Young Citizen of the Year in 2017 for her excellence in music and her contribution to the community.
“Encouraging others to reach their goals is important to me, which is why the title of my debut CD is Dreamcatcher,” Leah said.
Leah said the CD was recorded at age 13 and released by her mentor, Mirusia, the first time Mirusia has recorded a CD for another person.
“Since launching this CD, I have continued to chase my dreams of being a solo and collaborative performing artist and am currently working on developing my own show,” she said.
Currently Leah is working with Ludy Sigrist as a backing singer in a Neil Diamond Tribute band called Shiloh. The show will be performed at the Lingo Lin theatre, Ormiston College on May 12.
Leah finished school in Year 10 to take up a Bachelor of Creative Arts in Music at the University of Southern Queensland.
As she received her RedArts award, Leah said that not everyone had the support or opportunity to achieve their goals.
“That’s why, even though I am now in the semi-professional arena, I will continue to sing for organisations like Redland Hospital and Radio Lollipop. And while I do hope one day to be on the world stage, I will never take for granted the little stages and the little steps that helped get me there,” she said.