Singer pursues her operatic goals
After a long time of feeling out of place, Cadie Logston’s time at Bethel has given her a spot to pursue singing
By Murphy O’Malley, writer
Cadie Logston stood in a dark stairwell. The only light came from the 100-some-odd flickering red-, blue- and green-stained glass candles, held by her and her choir mates. She was where she needed to be. Robed in royal blue with gold accents, she was the picture of Bethel University pride. Calm, composed, collected. She was cool as the winter night outside the venue.
In about 60 seconds, Logston would ascend the private stairwell they called The Tower and enter from stage-right of the balcony in Benson Great Hall. About 500 family members, teachers and alumni waited for the Bethel Festival of Christmas. The biggest holiday event of the year, the production had been in the works for two months to prepare for Dec. 2, opening night.
“Usually [on] opening night… the nerves kind of start kicking in.,” Logston said. “But then once I’m up there, and once I’m singing, it’s fine, or at least I’m fine.”
Logston’s family has always been musically inclined, with all four kids either playing an instrument or singing or both. She grew up singing carols and pop songs, but her real love lay in a unique dream. Opera.
“I could sing before I could walk,” Logston said.
Logston’s passion for singing started in elementary school when she began learning about classical music, something that would define her talents in high school and Bethel University’s music department.
During high school, no one else thought of opera as a career. It made career day awkward and choir disappointing at times.When high school started, she was forced to choose.
Stay in band or stay in choir.
“It was difficult,” Logston said, “I wanted to do both, but choir set me on the right path for opera so it was the final choice.”
Logston was happy in choir, always smiling and putting in the extra effort that every high school choir teacher wished their students would. She practiced daily, nailing her parts in every performance.
“We had to tell her ‘tone it down a little bit, Cadie,’” high school choir teacher Jarrod Hendricks said. “She was always a couple steps ahead. She was passionate about it, which was awesome.”
“We had never seen her this excited about the band, it was amazing to know she found something she really loved.” — Caleb Logston, Logston’s father
Her parents, Caleb and Edie Logston, noticed the change in her right away. She came home from choir every day talking about a new piece of music or how excited she was for the next concert.
“We had never seen her this excited about the band, it was amazing to know she found something she really loved,” her father said.
Logston had to deal with the downsides of having a unique dream too. In school no one shared her passion for opera. They were just doing choir for credit.
“I kind of stuck out like a veggie tray at a Super Bowl party,” Logston said.
As December of senior year rolled around, Logston faced more choices. She was set on going out of state, but her parents were pushing her towards somewhere close to home. As December came to an end, she had applied to five in-state colleges and a few parent-sanctioned, out-of-state colleges, mostly in Tennessee, where her family had lived for four years when she was a kid.
A friend Logston had known since eighth grade textedher about Bethel.
“[He] had met with Dr. Guice Gill and really loved the campus,” Logston said. “So I thought ‘why not?’”
Logston woke up to her phone ringing in her cluttered bedroom. Feeling like a strung out theater kid, she got out of bed and flipped it over. It was a random number with a Minnesota extension.
“Hello?”
“Hi, this is Merrin Guice Gill, Associate Professor of Music at Bethel University. What do I have to do to get you here?”
Logston didn’t respond right away. She thought her job was to contact colleges and professors to get in, not the other way around. After a moment she responded: She would “look into it.”
“But my parents still didn’t get on board, it was eight hours away by car, and Minneapolis was in turmoil,” Logston said.
“And just like that I was going to Bethel, I feel like I’ve slotted right in. It’s easy to find my place among people here who share my ambitions and passions and who wholeheartedly support me.” — Cadie Logston, Bethel University freshman
The deadline date for college decisions came in May. Guice Gill made a final phone call. This time a heart-to-heart, mom-to-mom call to Logston’s mother.
“And just like that I was going to Bethel,” Logston said. “I feel like I’ve slotted right in. It’s easy to find my place among people here who share my ambitions and passions and who wholeheartedly support me.”
About 500 dimly-lit faces stared back at Logston as she clutched her blue stained-glass candle. The silence was like the blanket of snow floating to the ground just outside.
Bethel Choir Director Dr. Merrin Guice Gill queued up the first song. “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” started its haunting melody. The quiet humming of the opening chased away whatever nervousness Logston had left.
Timeline: Cadie Logston’s performances
July 2019: Cinderella performance
February 2020: ICHSA competition
July 2020: Senior Recital and Something Rotten
December 2020: Jefferson City capital choir performance
April 2021: You Can’t Take It With You
December 2021: Bethel Festival of Christmas
Q&A: Cadie on singing
Q: Your end goal for singing was to travel across the world to sing in some of the big venues. What’s the venue you want to sing at most?
A: “Of course I want to sing in the Sydney Opera House, but The Royal Opera House in London is up there too”
Q: Do you think that your talent was given? Or did you really work hard for it?
A: “I think it’s a mix, I was born into a musical family so it was more or less natural for me to start singing. But even now, I put a ton of work into singing everyday.”
Q: A lot of artist struggle with the burnout phenomenon. How have you ben able to deal with that and continue on without much of a break?
A: “It definitely comes down to the people around you. I ‘ve had times during hard theater weeks where I just wanna stop, but the community for music and theater is so supportive and they always find a way to make me feel better and find it in myself to keep going.”
Graphic by Murphy O’Malley
