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SJC Music major Renee Rybolt '09 of Berne, Indiana first knew she wanted to be a singer during her fourth grade musical when she played Mrs. Claus. After her humble beginnings, Rybolt, who grew up singing in church and has a three-octave range, decided to continue her pursuit of music at Saint Joseph's College.
Although Rybolt applied and auditioned for the music programs at three other universities, when she visited SJC, she immediately knew that Saint Joseph's was the place for her. "I instantly liked the fact that Saint Joseph's is Catholic, and I liked having a chapel on campus," she said. "When I stepped onto campus, I just felt at home. It's really like a family here." She is currently involved with the SJC Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, and Vocal Jazz Ensemble, as well as weekly hymn performances during Mass for Music Ministry. She also plays for the College's women's tennis team and volunteers in the community.
During her first academic year as a Puma, Rybolt toured St. Louis, Missouri with the Concert Choir, performing at several churches and one high school. Her main accomplishment, though, was singing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem with the choir and serving as the soprano soloist in a special performance of Arvo Part's Miserere. "I know that as a freshman, I wouldn't have gotten these opportunities at other colleges, so I'm very grateful," said Rybolt, who advocates the department's personal student-teacher relationships. "SJC is a great place to go for a Music degree because there are a lot of performing opportunities, it being a small school. The music professors are also excellent teachers with much knowledge about how to be a successful musician or teacher."
In the fall of 2007, Rybolt tied for first place in her division (female juniors) at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) state voice competition, the most prestigious competition of its kind in the United States. She went on to take second in the NATS regional competition in March 2008. She also starred as Monica in the SJC performance of the opera The Medium (2007) and competed in the Bach Festival Young Vocalists Competition in Kalamazoo in April 2008. Additionally, Rybolt was selected to sing in the American Choral Directors' Association (ACDA) Central Division Collegiate Repertoire Chorale in February 2008. She was chosen to be one of 103 singers from over 30 colleges and universities in the midwest to perform at the organization's regional convention.
Rybolt would like to continue her study of Music in graduate school. She is interested in pursuing vocal performance, but has also given thought to branching off into choral conducting. She hopes to one day travel across Europe and have the opportunity to learn French, German, and Italian diction from each country's inhabitants.
Although she has already achieved marked success at Saint Joseph's College, Rybolt stays grounded through her faith and is excited about the future. "God gave me my gift, and I feel like I should give back," Rybolt said. "My possibilities are endless right now."
