Hitting the High Notes

An encore performance at Commencement for GW singer Millicent Scarlett

August 11, 2010

Millicenty Scarlett singing at podium

By Rachel Muir

Next weekend, Millicent Scarlett will take the podium in front of the U.S. Capitol and an estimated crowd of 25,000 to sing the National Anthem and GW’s Alma Mater.

The classically trained soprano has shared the stage with former president George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, NAACP chairman Julian Bond, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Sen. Daniel Inouye at past GW Commencement ceremonies.

Does she still get nervous?

“Not really,” says Ms. Scarlett, an adjunct professor of voice at GW. “I may have butterflies as I get ready to step to the podium, but as soon as I hear the band start, they’re gone.”

Being prepared is the key, she says. “For Commencement, it’s mostly about reviewing the words. Despite the fact that I have sung the National Anthem and Alma Mater numerous times, I am constantly going over the songs in my head and humming my starting pitch.”

This year’s ceremony marks the fourth time she has performed at GW’s university-wide Commencement. She has also sung at Commencement Weekend’s doctoral hooding ceremony, Law School celebration and Interfaith Baccalaureate.

Originally from Winnipeg, Canada, Ms. Scarlett started singing at age 7. “I was discovered by my glee club teacher and began taking formal voice lessons in second grade,” she says.

In the mid-90s, she came to the University of Maryland’s Opera Studio—she had met the studio’s director after a performance in Toronto—and earned a master’s degree in music focusing on opera.

“After I graduated from Maryland, I had no idea what to do next,” she says. “I thought I would have to go back home to Winnipeg when I received a call from GW that there was an opening for a voice teacher. That was almost 12 years ago.”

At GW, Ms. Scarlett is the voice program coordinator and a private voice instructor in the Department of Music. She sings opera, jazz and musical theater professionally throughout the area.

After more than a dozen years, the Canada native feels at home in the D.C. area although she says she’s still learning to adjust to its unpredictable weather. “While I don’t miss the Winnipeg winters at all, this area’s weather drives me crazy: You can have all four seasons in one week, where in Winnipeg, it is usually one season at a time!”

Ms. Scarlett says she is particularly looking forward to this year’s Commencement and hearing First Lady Michelle Obama speak. “The GW community worked really hard to get her here,” she says. “I am very happy to have the opportunity to share in the students’ special day.”