Get to know Austin

What have you been up to?
"I am currently working as the Managing Director for the Gettysburg Children's Chorus, and as an Assistante de Langue in Amiens, France."
How long have you been singing in choirs?
"I started at age 5 singing with the Children’s Chorus of Maryland and taking musicianship classes."
What is your favorite musical memory?
“During the summer of 2020, I was invited to sing for some services at my church in Gettysburg. After being isolated in my house for so long, and having not performed since early March, it was such a blessing to sing for people again!"
Do you have any special talents or interests outside of music?
“Doing my best for the environment.”
Who is your favorite composer?
"I love Thomas Newman."
Who's your favorite non-classical musical artist?
"Florence and the Machine."
What song have you not been able to stop listening to?
"This 80's French pop song called Et l'on n'y peut rien, by Jean-Jaques Goldman"
​What's the most interesting fact about you?
“I got my first Covid-19 vaccine inFrance and my second in the US."
Breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast?
"Always breakfast for dinner. Breakfast for every meal team."
What's your favorite holiday and why?
"I have always loved Easter, when my dad and I go to a sunrise service before any of our family is awake."
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
"A morning person--I love to be up with the sun."
What's your favorite thing about singing in Lux?
"Everyone who sings with Lux is not only very talented but also so excited and passionate about what the group does, and it’s fun to be surrounded by that."
What's your favorite song you've sung with Lux?
"Awaken by Adrian Sims was the first piece of new music I've really connected with recently. I still find myself humming themes every once in a while."

Austin Nikirk is looking forward to her ninth season with Lux. She graduated from the Sunderman Conservatory of Music in 2020, and studied Vocal Performance. At the conservatory, Austin was a member of the College Choir and Audeamus treble voice ensemble, and studies in the studio of Dr. Susan Hochmiller. In the Fall of 2018, Austin studied abroad in Paris, France, at the École Normale de Musique, in the studio of soprano Sylvie Valayre. Austin has sung in choirs since she was 5 years old, starting with the Children’s Chorus of Maryland under Betty Berteaux, and American Kodály Children’s Chorus under Dr. Alyson Shirk. As a soloist, she has sung in eleven operas, and had roles in six: Albert Herring (Cis), Dido and Aeneas (First Witch), Die Fledermaus (Adele), The Old Maid and the Thief (Mrs. Pinkerton), and Cendrillon (Cendrillon). Austin recently moved to Amiens, France, and feels fortunate to continue singing with Lux over the summer.

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