Former Cardinal in competition to sing national anthem in Pops Concert on July 4

Whitney Edgar needs your vote.

Edgar is a 2004 Newton Senior High School graduate and is currently one of the finalists to sing the national anthem with the Des Moines Symphony on July 3 at the Iowa Statehouse lawn as a part of the 20th annual July 4 Pops Concert.

“I decided since it was here (in Iowa), why not just go sing for them, and I wanted the opportunity to sing for the maestro of the Des Moines Symphony,” Edgar said of why she entered. “I’ve sang the national anthem at various places.”

Edgar has been very busy since she left NHS. She received her master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 2010 and has also started a family.

“I’ve been to various places throughout the United States with opera companies and some Broadway stuff,” Edgar said.

Edgar is hoping to win the contest, and you can vote for her at http://dmsymphony.org/news/vote-for-your-favorite-2013-oh-say-can-you-sing-finalist/.

“I just thought, ‘Why not be able to sing in front of a whole bunch of people and be singing in Iowa?’, which is where I am from,” Edgar said. “It’s kind of nice to be able to sing on your home turf. They say it’s viewed by 100,000 people. That would be kind of nice to get that exposure. That would be a great thing in the professional sense and could never hurt to put on your résumé.”

Staff writer Ty Rushing may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 426, or at trushing@newtondailynews.com.