Nov 21, 2019 3 min read

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“I am tired, but I love what I do, so that kind of keeps me energized,” said Claire Dursa.

The 18-year-old is a senior at Carmichaels Area High School and collects a long list of extracurricular activities. On Wednesday, Nov. 21, she went up on the California University stage to perform as part the “Elf, The Musical” cast. The weekend before, on Nov. 16, Dursa sang the national anthem at Heinz Field, in Pittsburgh, prior to the WPIAL Football Championship games.

Dursa has been singing in events since she was young and performing in musicals since sixth grade, but the chance to perform the national anthem came during her sophomore year, when she was approached by another student about the opportunity. Since then, she has sung it at Carmichaels Area School District’s football, volleyball and basketball games.

Heinz Field, of course, is much larger than the school’s stadiums. The district’s athletic director, John Krajnak, submitted Dursa’s name to be one of the singers at the WPIAL championship and, about two weeks before the event, she found out she had been selected.

The day of the game, she did a backstage tour of the field and had a chance to rehearse with the microphone and earbuds she was provided. The monitors were so she could hear herself singing because the speakers have a delay due to the size of the stadium, Dursa explained.

She said, although she is used to performing the song, it was a little nerve-racking to stand in front of a crowd that large.

“There are always some nerves I have just because it is such an important song to sing and it is a difficult song to sing and, you know, you don’t want to mess up the words or anything in front of a big crowd,” Dursa said.

Having a lot of people she didn’t know watching also made the experience different than usual.

“I think a bigger crowd of people I don’t know does make me more nervous just because I do want to leave a good impression,” she said. “These people don’t know who I am, so whenever they see my name I want them to think of the time I did well for them.”

Although she likes football, Dursa wasn’t able to stay for the game because she had to rehearse for the Cal U musical.

Clearly, she has a lot on her plate. On top of the performances, Dursa is the senior drum major for the school’s marching band and sings in the choir.

“I’ve been involved with music my whole life,” she explained. “I grew up in a musical family. My dad was in a cover band, so I was kind of around music all the time.”

She said she wants to stay involved with music as much as possible, but it won’t be her main focus when she graduates high school and goes to West Virginia University to study marketing.

However, Dursa is thankful for everyone who believed in her throughout the years.

“I’m very happy for all the support I’ve been given throughout this community,” she said. “It has definitely helped me to keep doing what I love.”