Introducing Sam Krausz, CCM’s musical star….
Hometown: Saint Louis, MO
Year: Sophomore
Major: Vocal Performance
Involvement on Campus: Phi Kappa Tau, University Honors Program, CCM Tour Guide
Relationship Status: Single
Likes/Hobbies: Wine, traveling, piano, classic rock, baseball, concerts, baking, ice skating, movies, Church, Keystone Mac and Cheese
Dislikes: The Chicago Cubs, the soon-to-be Los Angeles Rams, Donald Trump, video games, plane ticket prices
Her Campus University of Cincinnati : What fueled your passion to become a voice major?
Sam Krausz: Well, I started off high school actually thinking I would go to college to play piano or do journalism. And then I fell in love with acting, and then with musical theater, and then I finally took voice lessons. I didn’t start until junior year, but it completely changed my life, even from the first day. My mind was made up to become a voice major when I was fortunate enough to spend a week in Miami, Florida in my senior year of high school competing nationally for scholarships, and ended up getting second place. Most of the other 11 competitors ended up at Juilliard, and the girl who beat me is still one of my closest friends. I felt quite a connection with those guys, and decided that the operatic community was one that I definitely wanted to be in.
HCUC: What’s your favorite opera/musical/musician?
SK: My favorite opera is definitely Gaetono Donizetti’s “L’Elisir D’Amore” or “The Elixir of Love”. The story’s about a poor farm worker who has a crush on the farm’s owner, this girl named Adina who’s totally out of his league. I guess I like it because it’s relatable. I’m working on the main tenor aria now and it’s by far the most moving piece of music I’ve ever tackled.
My favorite musical is “The Last Five Years” by Jason Robert Brown. Look up the movie with Anna Kendrick! And also look out for a student-run production of this show at CCM, which I will be directing at the beginning of fall semester!
My favorite musician is Harry Connick Jr. He can do everything and I equally envy and idolize him for it.
HCUC: What does music mean to you?
SK: Music to me means everything that words can’t say. You can use words to tell someone how you feel, but I believe music can make them actually feel it too. I believe that music is both a channel of expression and an opportunity for depth. And I believe that music may just be the only positive force on Earth that can bring people from all walks of life together.
HCUC: Why did you come to UC?
SK: I came to UC for quite a few reasons. Of course, CCM is one of the best values for a conservatory education in the United States, and ultimately the main reason why any singer goes to any school is to study under a certain teacher. But I was equally swayed by how much CCM was a part of the rest of the university, and how easy it would be to keep up my interests outside of the world of music. UC is a beautiful place with beautiful people, and even though I’m a conservatory student first, I still only get one shot in my life to have a college experience, and I thank God every day that it’s at UC.
HCUC: What’s your favorite part about the UC community?
SK: I love that the environment I’ve experienced here has never pressured me to be anything other than exactly who I am. It seems that no matter where I turn, there’s always been an amazing group of people to be a part of, whether it’s the people in my major, who have really become like family to me, or my fraternity, where all of the wacky things that make us all unique have somehow drawn us all closer as brothers. Whether it’s my housemates, who put up with my singing even though none of them are in CCM and still even cook for me sometimes, or the Army ROTC guys, who I’m starting my second semester of participating in morning physical training with to get in shape, and who all have the most exemplary character of any group I’ve met at UC. The acceptance I’ve felt here in everything I do has been inspiring.
HCUC: Tell us an interesting fact or story about yourself!
SK: I once got lost in Hangzhou, China with a bunch of other teenage guys while I was in high school. We were craving McDonald’s after ten days of weird Chinese food, like squid and squirrel fish (whatever that was). We got to McDonald’s okay, but then our maps app had our hotel at the wrong location, and we ended up wandering through this five-million-person city for four hours in the heavily polluted Chinese rain while frantically keeping our teacher and principal up to date at the hotel and using what little Chinese a couple of us knew to ask directions from complete strangers. We must have looked like the most helpless foreigners. Still we ended up safe back at the hotel around 2 am. I still don’t like China very much.
Click here to view Sam’s incredible talent: https://www.facebook.com/cyrus.apanius/videos/vb.100000158006609/1191281270887128/?type=2&theater
(Thanks to the talented Kevin Ready for the beautiful portait photographs)