MPS sopranos extend High School of the Arts’ winning streak in nationwide YoungArts contest

Young performers who dream of someday winning a Grammy or Tony Award know the prestigious national YoungArts competition is a great place to start.

Singer-songwriter Jon Batiste has five Grammys and earned a YoungArts award in 2005. Actress-producer Viola Davis has earned Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony statues, but her YoungArts Award came first. Akira Harris graduated from Milwaukee High School of the Arts (MHSA) this past spring and earned YoungArts honors in 2024. Today she’s a voice major at UW-Milwaukee.

This fall, two more Milwaukee High School of the Arts singers joined the ranks of YoungArts awardees. Sopranos Lex V. Crump and Amiracle Evans are the only Wisconsin singers to enter and win the 2025 competition. Each singer submitted three performance videos.

More than 11,000 sophomore through senior students nationwide submitted art, writing, or performance pieces for the contest. Lex and Amiracle learned about the award in November, completing an intense five months of song selection, study, and rehearsal. MHSA Choral Director Raymond Roberts coached both singers.

Roberts describes the YoungArts organization, founded in 1981, as a “who’s who” in the arts world and part of MHSA’s performance culture. The foundation’s annual contest recognizes emerging artists in 10 disciplines. Winners receive a medal, monetary award, and lifetime mentorship and development opportunities.

“It’s a fun list to keep,” Roberts said of the 15 or 16 students who have earned an award from the Miami-based nonprofit during his 34 years teaching at MHSA.

Roberts recruited Amiracle and Lex for the competition last spring. For Amiracle, he selected “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?” performed by Stevie Nicks and “Alfie,” popularized by Dionne Warwick. Amiracle’s third song, no pressure, she chose herself: “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”

“I love Whitney (Huston); my family loves Whitney,” Amiracle said. “That specific song, turn it on, and everyone automatically knows it. It’s joyous, and I thought, ‘Why not just do it’?”

Amiracle kept her cords warm during Roberts’ vocal arts class, which he taught at Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School in summer. She practiced at home for two or three hours every night.

Her favorite song is “Alfie.” Amiracle dedicated her performance to Cynthia Erivo, a British Tony-Emmy-Grammy winner who performed the song for Dionne Warwick in 2023.

“I know Cynthia’s music and instantly fell in love with her version,” Amiracle said. “I wanted to give credit to Cynthia and Ms. Dionne Warwick and make the song my own at the same time.”

Lex rehearsed evenings and weekends over the summer, deconstructing and rebuilding her classical repertoire after putting in a full day as a Milwaukee Rep intern. She connected to the drama and despair of Gian Carlo Menotti’s aria “Steal Me, Sweet Thief.”

“Mr. Roberts gave me the song last year, and I was so intimidated,” she said. “Now it’s my favorite aria ever. It’s about a maid who has this man staying with her; she has a crush on him and wants him to know she’s not getting any younger. To perform that yearning and frustration is very fulfilling as an actor and singer.”

When school resumed in September, Lex worked rehearsal time into her three daily music classes and teaching assistant duties for MHSA’s freshman treble choir when possible. She also rehearsed at home.

Lex has been acting and singing in professional productions since 3rd grade but didn’t know she was a classical performer, or truly understand her vocal range or power, until she entered MHSA’s choir room.

“My first two years at MHSA, I swore I was an alto, then a mezzo, and, no, I’m actually a soprano. I’ve grown a lot as a musician, due to Mr. Roberts,” said Lex, who earned a 2024 CIVIC MUSIC MKE Young Artist Scholarship. “He pushes us not past our breaking point but definitely farther than we think we can go.”

Roberts knows this story well. He began playing piano as a young child but didn’t sing until he enrolled in Dallas’ Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Today, the tenor, teacher, and pianist sings with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and Skylight Music Theatre as time allows. His day job remains his passion.

“The arts are crucial to the health and vitality of any city,” Roberts said. “They help people tap into that side of the brain and part of the human experience that values making beautiful things.

“Evidence of this includes MHSA alumni who are part of the arts scene in Milwaukee and around the world. Decision-makers and policymakers see and value their work and advocate for continued investment in arts education. This is why arts schools thrive in larger cities like Milwaukee and Dallas.”

Lex, who graduates from MHSA in spring of 2025, dreams of continuing her musical education at Fisk University, a historically black university in Nashville, TN. Amiracle is a junior.

Local audiences can enjoy performances from MHSA student and alumni musicians during the school’s Spring Concert on May 16, 2025, celebrating the 40th anniversary season of Milwaukee High School of the Arts.

The 2026 YoungArts application opens in July 2025.

Raymond Roberts’ vocal coach approach

Phrasing — Deconstruct the song. Break apart rhythm, melody, and words, and study each element separately.

Monologuing — Read the lyrics over and over, like a monologue. “This helps performers know where to take a breath when they sing,” Roberts explained.

Storytelling — “Tell the song’s story in a compelling way; bring your own lived experience to it despite your young age. That’s how students create a compelling performance that doesn’t just imitate the original,” Roberts said.