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Website: www.latishavansimon.com
It isnt very often that a young child experiences a moment of epiphany such as the one that Dutch singer Latisha Van Simon did when she came upon her passion in life. Van Simon and her family were attending the performance of the musical Annie at the Carre Theatre in Amsterdam when she was ten years old. She had no idea what to expect before the show started, but she was totally thrown aback when Annies character came on stage and began to sing. Since that moment, Van Simon has been determined to get herself into the spotlight as a professional vocalist.
One of four siblings, Van Simon grew up in the Netherlands, and still has strong connections to her home and family. As a young child, she was always very willing and eager to learn, and as a result of her unique intelligence and abilities, her parents decided to enroll her in a Waldorf elementary school. They believed that the unique teaching style that the school offered would allow her to accelerate her singing and performing skills more quickly and thoroughly than she would have at the public schools.
She started trying to make a name for herself after a couple of years of musical training, and after a few months of auditions, she landed the lead part in Annie, the same role that she had watched barely a year before. The show was a big success, as the group performed the play in several theatres around the country. As her mother recounts, her voice was already far more strong and mature than most children in her age group.
Van Simon opted not to continue in private education after completing Waldorf, and instead decided to enroll in the Coornhert Lyceum in Haarlem. Although it was a public school, Van Simon had several opportunities to write and compose songs, as well as perform them on a larger stage. When she was fifteen, she competed in a school contest and was awarded best solo artist twice for her regional district. The Dutch press commented once that her voice was three times larger than she was. She also had the privilege of performing in a contest called the French Concour de la Chanson, which was run by the Dutch vocalist Liesbeth. After Van Simons performance, Liesbeth commented that she had heard, The voice of God, and further noted, Not only does she sing with determination, she also interprets the emotion of the song in a very convincing manner.
She continued her success on stage all throughout high school, doing workshops with top artists in the Netherlands, as well as being invited to sing with New Yorks Harlem Gospel Choir. Through these experiences, Van Simon learned valuable skills and made wonderful connections, but she realized that there was still something missing from her music. She decided that the next step in her career would be to study her composition in the United States, which would allow her to hone her knowledge of the English language. This, she decided, was the next big step towards fulfilling her dream. Van Simon finished high school, and enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston when she was 18.
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