ATLANTA — At Georgia State’s spring 2025 graduation ceremonies, the School of Music’s Blair Lipham will hit two high notes. First, she will receive a Master of Music in Voice Performance. Secondly, she will end a run of more than two dozen performances of the national anthem at Georgia State events.
Since joining the master’s program two years ago, Lipham’s soprano rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” has become a familiar voice at numerous university functions. To date, Lipham has sung the national anthem nearly 25 times, and by the end of commencement week, that number will be 31.
“I felt extremely honored when I was first invited to sing for GSU’s graduation ceremonies,” Lipham said. “And now, being able to perform at my graduation feels incredibly special. I’m beyond excited for that moment.”
Lipham, who hails from Carrollton, Ga., explained that singing the national anthem is more nerve-racking than performing opera. In opera, she feels a layer of protection between her and the audience through character portrayal, back story, costumes and staging, whereas when singing the national anthem, it’s just Lipham, herself, before a huge crowd with nothing to hide behind. In her head, the YouTube compilations of people forgetting the lyrics live rent-free.
Then there’s the audience size that adds to the anxiety. In the past, Lipham has sung for The Atlanta Opera with an audience of about 2,500 people, but for GSU’s commencement ceremonies, the audience can swell to 6,000.
Lipham grew up on a farm amid horses, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, fish and even a turtle. At age 13, she discovered her love for singing during a community theater audition, at which the director encouraged her mother to enroll Lipham in voice lessons. The “a-ha” moment for choosing voice as a career path came during her junior year, studying in the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program alongside other passionate student artists.
At GSU, Lipham performed in four opera productions, taking on roles like Nedda in “I Pagliacci,” Micaëla in “Carmen,” Rosalinde in “Die Fledermaus” and Voluptua in “La Pizza con Funghi.”
The highlight for Lipham is singing with The Atlanta Opera Chorus. During her first semester, GSU Opera Music Director Rolando Salazar heard Lipham sing and, on the spot, offered her a role in the chorus, of which he serves as chorus master. Since then, Lipham hasn’t missed a single production, having performed in “La Bohème,” “Die Zauberflöte,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Macbeth.” She is currently in rehearsals for “Semele,” which opens this June. Lipham easily adapted to the transition from the university opera to a Tier 1 professional company and found the real-world opera experience to be empowering.
Sample Lipham's operatic talent in this excerpt from "Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretal" here.
Lipham said she thanks Professor Kathryn Hartgrove for her mentorship and brilliance as a pedagogue. “She is one of the most selfless, dedicated and compassionate people I’ve ever met,” Lipham said. “She gives everything she has to her students, and her light shines through every corner of the GSU voice program. I feel so lucky to have studied with her.”
When asked to describe her GSU experience in three words, Lipham shared:
Personalized: “At GSU, I felt truly seen, not just as another soprano, but as an artist, actor, singer and human being. My teacher never tried to mold my voice into something it wasn’t and instead helped me refine what made me unique."
Encouraging: “GSU is incredibly supportive with genuine kindness, and I’ve never felt so surrounded by people who sincerely want to see me succeed."
Squeaky Door: “This one matters. ‘Squeaky door’ is a phrase my voice teacher uses to describe a vocal technique that I’m convinced would fix about 90 percent of all students’ singing issues. It’s about the healthy approximation of the vocal folds, a core part of efficient voice production. When done right, it literally sounds like a squeaky, creaky door. That one image unlocked so many technical improvements in my singing, and it’s something I’ll carry with me forever.”
What’s next after graduating? Lipham plans to stay in Atlanta, work with The Atlanta Opera, and then travel to Italy to sing in “Le gare generose” with the Fondazione Pergolesi Spontini. She’ll then return to perform scenes from “La Bohème” with Capitol City Opera. In between performances, it’s business as usual — audition, audition and audition.