Vocalist Lucky to present 'A Storybook Christmas' concert December 20

Dec. 16—This holiday season, make it a "Storybook Christmas" ... with the gift of music.

Page Lucky, a Pulaski County native with an expertly trained voice for opera, is coming home to present a special Christmas concert, "A Storybook Christmas," on Tuesday, December 20, at 7 p.m. at Eubank Baptist Church in northern Pulaski County.

The concert is free and open to the public, and appropriate for any age.

"Christmas music is my favorite music," said Lucky. "Yes I'm a trained opera singer and I predominantly perform old jazz songs, but I am one of those people who listens to Christmas music randomly all year. If I have a day where I'm feeling a little down or can't seem to get inspired, sometimes 20 minutes of traditional Christmas music simply puts me in the right spirit.

"That's the very reason I try to focus my Christmas concerts on interesting and fun music instead of just focusing, for example, on showy pieces," she said. "I want everyone to leave afterwards with a big smile on their face because they simply had fun."

Lucky attended Science Hill School, where her mother Lou was a teacher, and then Pulaski County High School. In addition to Science Hill, Eubank Baptist did a musical every year around Christmastime that helped influence the career in the arts that Lucky would choose. After starting out as a piano major at Eastern Kentucky University, but after changing majors to Vocal Performance, she got a scholarship to study at the University of Wyoming with mezzo soprano Dr. Katrina Zook, whom Lucky called a "great teacher." She then went on to the Middlebury Language School in Vermont to study Italian and German.

A little over a decade ago, Lucky decided to make New York City her home and has stayed busy ever since. Among her high-profile opportunities are getting cast in a Brooklyn-area production of Donizetti's "L'elisir d'amore", and working in Greece with the Festival of the Aegean, a prestigious international showcase for performances. She's also performed at the Buxton Opera House in London, England, in Albany, NY, and numerous other places.

Lucky is a coloratura soprano, which she describes as a "German system; that singing voice is very fluid, it sings things very quickly and very high" compared to a "normal soprano."

In 2018, Lucky decided to come back and perform for her home county at Christmastime. A lot of things have changed since then — in the world, and in Lucky's life.

"As you can imagine, things have been challenging for musicians still because of the pandemic, economy, and just changes in how we live our lives in general now, but I've been surprisingly busy despite that," said Lucky. "I've been working with two arrangers on putting together the music for both my upcoming jazz and Christmas albums (hopefully live by the end of 2023).

"I also went back to school to pursue a fashion design degree," she added. "I've been sharing my sewing projects through social media for a long time now, and after being encouraged by many people to keep designing, I decided to really pursue it and see where it goes. I'm really enjoying it, and life is quite busy."

Lucky said she chose the "Storybook Christmas" theme because of the tradition of rich narratives associated with the holiday.

"I think what makes many of our favorite Christmas songs so memorable is the story or childhood memory we associate with it," she said. "This year's music selections are really focused around secular and sacred songs that are strongly tied to famous films or stories that most everyone will know."

Performing with Lucky are Jaydee Miller on piano, Dan Harris on bass, Dan Hopper on the drums, and Brice Farrar on violin.

Lucky invited those interested in her sewing designs or watching the progress with her album to follow her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/PageLuckySinger) or on Instragram (www.instagram.com/pagelucky/). She also invited people to watch her social media for information about the "Storybook Christmas" concert and how one might experience it.

Maybe the most magical part of this seasonal story for Lucky is that there's no place like home for the holidays.

"It's always special to return home to perform," she said. "I learned to sing and sight read just as much at church as I did from my teachers. In a way it's like returning to your core. There are still many people at Eubank Baptist whom I grew up with, recognize, and have memories of. Imagine going to a large concert to perform, but having a connection with almost everyone in the seats. I always try to invest myself fully into whatever performance I'm giving, but when you're surrounded by friends and family, I think the emotional reward can be greater."