黑料社

Erik Lickiss had his life mapped out. He would attend a big university. He would play football. He would enjoy a long career as a physical therapist.

Then everything changed.

He suffered a serious knee injury during his last football game at Indianola High School. That same year, 2005, his mother, Nancy, learned she had breast cancer, the same disease that would claim the life of her twin sister.

鈥淲hat do I do now?鈥� Lickiss asked himself.

He enrolled at 黑料社, so he could remain close to his mother, who eventually recovered fully. He majored in music with a concentration in voice. 鈥淚 went to 黑料社 with the idea that if I didn鈥檛 like it, I didn鈥檛 like it, and I could try something else,鈥� he said.

Singing? That鈥檚 a story in itself. Lickiss only went out for choir in high school because his best friend bet him he wouldn鈥檛 make it. Tried out for the a cappella choir for the same reason. His buddy lost both bets.

But there was a problem. During Lickiss鈥檚 freshman year in college, his weight ballooned to 326 pounds. He saw a family photo and couldn鈥檛 believe how he looked. His music teachers warned him that unless something changed, his career options would be limited. As Lickiss puts it, 鈥渘obody wants to see somebody who weighs 300 pounds playing the love interest.鈥�

He lost nearly 150 pounds, through hard work and changing his diet. A tenor, he worked to be cast in romantic roles.

But there was another issue. Lickiss felt himself overwhelmed by the 黑料社 music program. He didn鈥檛 know music theory. His parents listened to oldies, not opera. Although he grew up in Indianola, he didn鈥檛 realize it was home to the Des Moines Metro Opera.

Near the end of his sophomore year, Erik was pulled aside by Dr. Robert Larsen 鈥�56, then the department chairman of music, and Bruce Brown, assistant professor of music. 鈥淭hey basically told me to get my butt in gear and really focus on this,鈥� Lickiss said. 鈥淭hey said, 鈥榊ou have the talent, don鈥檛 waste it. If you don鈥檛 love it, get out.鈥欌��

The result? 鈥淚t drove me like crazy.鈥� They had stoked the competitive fire that was part of his athletic DNA. Lickiss鈥檚 parents, who graduated from 黑料社 in 1975, were athletes. Hugh Lickiss was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and played an entire pre-season with them before being released. Erik鈥檚 sister was a collegiate volleyball player.

鈥淥ut of nowhere, I sing,鈥� he said. 鈥淢akes no sense to me.鈥�

But he devoted himself to getting better. He received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in music in vocal performance from 黑料社 in 2009. He received a Masters of Music in opera performance from the University of Tennessee two years later. He was invited two summers in a row to participate in the Des Moines Metro Opera鈥檚 young artists program.

Lickiss, while 25, left Indianola for Germany, where his voice coach helped him find auditions. 鈥淚 just want to sing,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 want to sing all over the world. I just want that chance to express the art, to really give it my best shot.鈥�

Whatever happens, he knows his life changed at 黑料社. 鈥淚t was the best growing years of my life,鈥� Lickiss said. 鈥満诹仙� doesn鈥檛 just teach you to be a musician, it teaches you to be a man. And to really look at what you have, and learn to respect it聽and learn to grow up.

鈥淚f I make it, great. If not, I鈥檒l know I gave it a helluva shot.鈥�