Nebraska Wesleyan’s Opera Director has performed on stages big and small all across the world.
Dawn Pawlewski Krogh has held title roles as Marie in O Pioneers!, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, and Arline in The Bohemian Girl, a role which won her the “best female singer” award at the International Festival of Light Opera in Ireland.
But there was one stage she had long set her sights on.
The long-time Chicago Cubs fan dreamed of singing at Wrigley Field. Her dream came true on August 16, when she stood before a roaring crowd and sang the National Anthem.
“I was very nervous,” said Krogh. “It’s the National Anthem. If you mess it up, your life is over.”
Last spring she auditioned to sing at Wrigley Field and was notified of her selection this summer.
Krogh is used to singing the National Anthem for various events. In fact, she was Nebraska's winner of the National Anthem Project a few years ago. But this time was different. Prior to the game, Krogh and her family stood on the field to watch the baseball team warm up. She took several deep breaths and slowly rehearsed the words to the National Anthem over and over in her head.
When the announcer introduced Krogh she took to the microphone and sang flawlessly.
“There was a hushed silence as soon as I started,” she said. “And once I started, the nerves went away.”
Krogh wasn’t completely unfamiliar with singing at a ballpark. Several years ago she attended a mass audition to sing the National Anthem at an Arizona Diamondbacks game. She won and happened to sing on a night the team was playing her beloved Cubs.
Krogh — who hails from Des Moines, Iowa — said the Chicago Cubs were natural favorites for her family.
“Having no professional baseball team in Iowa, the Cubs became our team,” she said.
Krogh’s selection to sing the National Anthem also garnered her VIP seats. At one point she even ducked from a pop fly.
“It really was an incredible experience,” she said. “It was a dream come true.”