Nansemond River High School sophomore Cameron Lindsey, 15, performed in the first Virginia Tech Honor Choir as part of a two-day event held on Saturday and Sunday.

The Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts asked for high school choir directors statewide to nominate up to eight of their best singers for the event. Cameron is a member of the NRHS women’s vocal group Bella Voce, where she’s made a stellar impression on Dr. Joleen Neighbours, the Suffolk Public Schools fine arts facilitator and director of Bella Voce.

“She’s exceptionally talented,” Neighbours said, with wonderful stage presence and a beautiful voice, she added. “I knew she would be a good representative for both Nansemond River and Suffolk Public Schools.”

Daughter of Cre and Karen Lindsey of Suffolk, Cameron has been singing she was a small child, making up verses with random words and la-la-las. Her father sang some of the first songs that inspired her to become a singer, she said.

She was excited for the opportunity to take her vocals further.

“I was excited, because it was the first time I had ever done anything like this really, to go so far to sing,” she said.

The NRHS sophomore enjoyed sightseeing at the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, but most of the weekend was spent in rehearsals.

Led by Virginia Tech choral faculty Dr. Dwight Bigler and Dr. Hyesoo Yoo, Cameron and more than 100 other high school vocalists had just two days to learn about four pieces of music, including “Gaudeamus Igitur” (a Latin phrase that translates to “So Let Us Rejoice”) and “Old Joe Clark.”

“I never learned music that quickly in my life,” Cameron said. “It was very cool how I actually retained the information.”

All of their hard work led to the final concert performance on Sunday in the Moss Arts Center. Cameron and her choir mates watched as the VT Chamber Singers, select Virginia Tech soloists and winners of the Vocal Solo Contest first took the stage.

When the time came for the VT Honor Choir, she became part of the soft, melodic chorus using the skills she hones at each practice on every school day.

“It was nerve-wracking,” Cameron said. “We only had, like, a day to learn all this music. It was kind of terrifying, but it was also exciting getting able to show how good we sounded.”

She enjoyed that new experience on Virginia Tech’s beautiful campus and felt the benefits of broadening her horizons.

“It brought me a little out of my comfort zone, and I feel like that was good for me. I’m not used to the intense-ness that was happening there. I think that was really helpful,” she said.