Chester County Edition
July 2012
Vol. 9 No. 7
Self-Made Senior Idol 2012 Talent Competition Winner Earned Music Degree at 45 By Megan Joyce Most of us have encountered tough times in our lives where we were encouraged to heed the old adage of “dusting ourselves off ” or “picking ourselves up by our bootstraps.” We fall; we rise up; we move forward, bruised but vertical. These days, Vickie Kissinger’s bootstraps hang firmly hinged on a treble clef and a cluster of eighth-notes. The newly named 2012 PA STATE SENIOR IDOL and New Holland-area resident is a lifelong music lover, having started on the organ at just 5 years old. “My grandparents actually got me started in music. My grandmother in particular always had a love for music, and they took me for organ lessons,” Kissinger recalled. “That was just always a dream of hers: She wanted me to learn to play the organ.” As she grew up, her musical studies expanded to include piano as well, and by age 13 she was playing the organ in church; by 15, she was substituting for two different local churches. By high-school graduation, Kissinger was offered an organist position at a church in Akron. As a teenager, Kissinger had become interested in singing, and her jazzpiano teacher at the time encouraged her to embrace her voice. After she please see IDOL page 13 2012 PA
STATE
SENIOR IDOL Vickie Kissinger performing “At Last” by Etta James.
Inside:
Power Reigns Supreme at Senior Idol page 8
Is the Only-Child Trend Desirable? page 14