7-year-old opera singer from Latrobe sings anthem at Pirates home opener
The performer of “The Star Spangled Banner” for the 133rd Pittsburgh Pirates home opener didn’t retreat to a star’s dressing room after walking off the PNC Park grass. She didn’t make any big-timer demands, either.
It might surprise you what Latrobe native Victory Brinker most wanted after singing the national anthem for a crowd of 37,336.
“Afterward, she’ll just say, ‘Just give me my slime, give me some Play-Doh,’” Victory’s mother, Christine, said, “‘and I’m good to go.’”
Of course. After all, Victory just recently turned 7 years old. As such, Play-Doh and slime bring her joy.
So does listening to music and singing. Again, not unlike most kindergarten-aged children. But what decidedly is not like Victory’s 7-year-old contemporaries is that none of them has performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Or had a part in three Hollywood feature films. Or won about a dozen regional/national/international talent shows.
Not many 7-year-olds can accurately be identified as “opera singer.”
“She has a passion for (music),” said Victory’s father, Eric, “that’s for sure.
“She’s always singing,” Eric Brinker added with a laugh. “Always. Just always singing.”
Loves singing English. In Italian. Even in French, German and Latin.
“I like learning new songs,” she said.
That’s not unlike her answer for why she’s enjoyed acting.
“I get to meet new people.”
Plenty of people will be getting to know Victory soon enough, judging by her talent and the audiences she’s already serenaded.
Then again, as the eighth of 11 siblings in the Brinker family, Victory has had an audience every day as she’s woken up.
“There’s always somebody to sing to,” Victory said.
Always a new place to perform, too.
Singing the anthem prior to a Pirates game came three months after Victory performed “The Star Spangled Banner” at a Utah Jazz basketball game.
“She just loves to do it,” Christine Brinker said from the PNC Park press conference room minutes after Victory’s performance. “I just told her yesterday, ‘Let’s take a little break after this; maybe in May we will take a little break.’ And she’s like ‘Noooo!’ … She doesn’t want to take a break.
“It’s just fun for her.”
Opening Day anthem performed by 7-year-old Latrobe native Victory Brinker pic.twitter.com/3X8gmESqBh
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) April 1, 2019
Victory completed filming parts for movies in New York City and Lexington, Ky., in recent months (both are in post-production) and now is intermittedly traveling to Washington, D.C., for work in another.
In one of the films, a part was added of Victory singing “Ave Maria” after she sang for the cast and crew during a break.
“She sang in front of about 80 people at wrap-ups, and when they heard her they wanted to add it in,” Eric Brinker said, proudly.
“Ave Maria” (roots in Latin and German) is far from the only foreign-language opera Victory performs. Among her favorites are the Italian “O mio babbino caro” or “Nessun Dorma,” or the French The Jewel Song (“Ah, je ris de me voir”) — which she cites as one of the most difficult to perform.
Victory’s parents say her love of music traces back to hearing Christian contemporary artist Mandisa when she was 2 or 3.
“She’s always kind of had that pitch and could sing at an early age,” Christine Brinker said. “But about a year ago, she asked to watch a YouTube video of ‘somebody who could sing the highest notes.’ And we showed her that of an opera singer, and she said, ‘I want to sing opera.’
“So since then we have been traveling everywhere.”
From Latrobe to all over the world — and, on Monday, PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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