Prince Edward Island’s Jessica Gallant used to save her singing for the shower.
Now she is ready to perform in a stadium.
Gallant, 20, a native of Ten Mile House, will sing both the Canadian and American anthems at two Blue Jays games at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
She will hit the field first on Sept. 30 to sing before the start of a ball game between the Jays and the New York Yankees. A few days later, she will be back at Rogers Centre to sing both national anthems again prior to the Jays’ final game of the 2012 season against the Minnesota Twins.
Singing in front of thousands of people will be a first for Gallant.
She began acting in elementary school but didn’t start singing until she was in high school.
“I was quite self-conscious of my singing,’’ she said. “It was something I did only in the car or in the shower.’’
Joining the Young Company at the Confederation Centre of the Arts changed all that as she sang in front of large crowds of tourists and Islanders in 2010 and 2012.
Last year, she performed with the Feast Dinner Theatre in Summerside.
She credits her training at the Young Company with giving her the confidence to audition for the four-year Musical Theatre Performance degree program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont.
She is in her second year of the program. Earlier this year, she was recommended to audition at Rogers Centre for the anthem gig.
She did and she got the nod.
Since then, Gallant has been busy practising both anthems, which she will be singing a cappella.
“I’m excited to just kind of let it all out,’’ she said. “We’ll see what happens.’’
Gallant will have her own cheering section consisting of parents Allan and Darlene Gallant of Ten Mile House, two sisters, a cousin and some teachers. She hopes to impress them as well as many others.
“I hope that if I do a good job that maybe they will ask me to come back next year,’’ she said.
“There will be tons of people watching so you never know what can happen.’’
You will do great hun.... So proud if you xoxo