WESTWOOD —
Anytime, anyplace — Ask Rikki Nelson to sing and she’s ready to oblige.
Monday, for instance, huddled with a reporter and a photographer in an office at Fairview High School, Rikki offered an a capella verse of “God Bless America,” and then sang it again to make sure their recorder picked it up.
“It’s a degree of confidence you have to have (to be a performer), said Jeff Ware, Rikki’s band teacher and one of the faculty members who will accompany her to Frankfort next Tuesday when she is scheduled to sing for the members of the General Assembly.
Rikki caught the ear of state House majority floor leader Rocky Adkins, who attended a Veterans Day ceremony at Fairview High. That same day, Adkins told her history teacher she should come to Frankfort some time and sing for the senators and representatives.
Ware heard that and mentioned it to his wife Mary, who worked with Adkins. A couple of weeks and a few emails later, Adkins had made a formal invitation.
Rikki, a senior, will sing the number as arranged for the Fairview show choir, of which she is a three-year member. It’s the version Celine Dion sings, and Rikki has been rehearsing with the choir and at home. “It’s a very vocally challenging song,” she said.
It is clear that Rikki loves to sing, but she deflects compliments with an ever-present self-deprecatory humor. She’s been anxious, she said, about performing at the Capitol, but not because of the powerful and influential audience.
“It’s the first time I will ever sing in front of my mamaw,” she admitted. Her grandmother, Bessie Nelson, sings at church and was an early musical influence, she said. “Maybe that’s where I got my ability. No one else in the family sings.”
She totally gets the irony of an 18-year-old girl having the same name — spelling aside — as a 1960s teen idol, rolling her eyes and admitting she also has a thing for Elvis. Her academic plans, after a couple of semesters at Ashland Community and Technical College, include finding a college in Tennessee, the King’s home state.
Since she was 5 or 6 years old, Rikki has been able to listen to a song on the radio a time or two and remember the words well enough to sing. She has been in every school play from the time she enrolled at Fairview in third grade.
As a freshman she joined the band and plays clarinet and tenor saxophone. The formal musical training has helped her as a singer, she believes.
Though jittery about her Frankfort gig, she sees it as an opening, both personally and as a loyal Eagle. She wants to give the tiny Fairview district every possible chance to stand out. “It’s a huge opportunity, especially for such a small school,” she said.
“I hope they’re impressed.”
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.
Schools
Related Photos
-
Fairview High School senior Rikki Nelson has been invited to sing “God Bless America” for the General Assembly. Kevin Goldy
Discussion
Fairview senior to sing for lawmakers
- Schools
-
-
Brew Crew brightens day for RMS teachers
There was a knock on the classroom door and the next thing Kim Blanton saw was a steaming cup of hot chocolate and the smiling face of Jesse Allen.
-
Amending the Constitution?
Some students at Greenup County High School ended their day Tuesday with a fresh respect for the nation’s founders.
-
Hands, Faces, and Voices
A hundred pairs of eyes locked onto Cynthia Changaris, tracking her every move. A hundred pairs of ears strained to hear every word of the hoary old ghost story Changaris was telling.
-
Test story
Test document
-
Getting gross at camp
Without waiting for an introduction, Sunni Walters brandished a baggie of red goop and confided in a visitor: “We made blood! Yesterday we made snot!”
-
Pawing through some pages
Lady is a good reading companion if you want one who sits quietly, sometimes thumps her tail during the good parts, and gives you a high-five at the end of the page.
-
A salute to service
Dozens of cadets placed thousands of American flags at the burial sites of military veterans within Rose Hill Burial Park Friday morning, providing each with a slow salute and considering themselves fortunate for the opportunity to be there.
-
Learning to let go
One by one, 27 children picked their way down a sandy slope to the bank of the Little Sandy River, their hands held carefully on top of the red plastic cups they carried.
-
Hatcher principal Greene taking over Verity helm
Hatcher Principal David Greene won’t be out of a job when the elementary closes at the end of this school year.
-
Making mound music
The composition Boyd County Middle School band members will be performing Thursday prompts them to think about more than the notes they’re playing.
- More Schools Headlines
-
Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion
Reunited Dad, Son: 'We Just Praise God'
Slow Pokes: Acupuncture Helps Sick Turtles
Moore, Okla. City of Reunions, Tears After Storm
Former IRS Chief: Can't Say How List Happened
Gov. Fallin: Okla. Facing Horrific Disaster
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
