It’s undeniable that Sonja Seidman, a senior at Grant High School, has a very impressive artistic resume: She’s the co-leader of Grant’s state-winning choir ensemble Nothing But Treble (NBT), secretary of the choir program’s board, the 2024 Oregon Thespians state champion in solo monologue and the 2025 Oregon State Activities Association (OSAA)’s Solo and Ensemble state champion in alto voice. On top of these achievements, she possesses the unique ability to inspire those around her and has greatly contributed to her community.
Seidman first became involved in Grant’s choir program when she attended an “intro to choir” night during her eighth gradeyear. There, she watched a performance by the Royal Blues, Grant’s top-level chamber ensemble choir. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is incredible. I’ve never seen anything like this,’” she says. After she saw the performance, John Eisemann, Grant’s choir director, encouraged her to join the choir program as a freshman. She became a part of the entry-level treble choir and NBT, which she auditioned for.
In her sophomore year she made it into the Royal Blues, a difficult feat as an underclassman. She has since toured with the Royal Blues in Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Canada, singing for paid gigs and in local churches. “It was just so magical to see our music moving all of these people that we didn’t know,” she says. “Eisemann always talks about how singing is so magical because it’s literally coming from us, from our bodies … it’s just coming from
yourself in your way.”
Eisemann and Seidman share their love for the choir program’s culture. “It felt like that community was already so strong. It was really easy to be assimilated into it,” Seidman says.
According to Eisemann, talented student leaders are what make the community so strong. “(It’s) students like Sonja and many of her peers that create that culture of acceptance, of support, of inclusivity (and) of just joy,” he says. “Sonja is a type A leader. She is idea driven … she is someone who problem solves, who comes up with creative solutions to things and fearlessly works to see them through.”
Choir is not the only performing art Seidman is involved in at Grant. She has participated in the theater program since her freshman year, despite not yet taking an acting class. She was awarded a leading role in the spring musical her freshman year. Since then, she has taken on at least one leading role every year in either the fall play or spring musical. For her, theater is mostly an in-school extracurricular, though she sometimes receives training and assistance from her mother, who is a former actress. “She has been super beneficial in teaching me how to be a more natural actor,” she says.
Though Seidman has experienced much success in group performing arts, she has also flourished in individual competitions. In 2024, she placed first in the Oregon Thespians state competition for her “solo monologue,” and this year she placed first in the OSAA Solo and Ensemble state competition for “alto voice.” She says that much of her preparation for the latter competition involves finding music that best suits her voice and working to understand exactly what she’s singing or performing. “It really just goes hand in hand, my choral performance and my acting performance, being able to connect with the music and tell a story,” she says. “A lot of my preparation for solo state is knowing the story I was telling and having the technique, but also ignoring the technique in order to tell my story of the song.”
As she enters her senior year at Grant, Seidman is excited to see younger members of the performing arts programs step into larger roles. “It’s always scary when the seniors leave, because it’s like … ‘Oh my God, all of our talent’s gone, what are we gonna do?’” she says. “It’s really nice each year to see … all the underclassmen step up into these roles of leadership.” Seidman highly encourages participating in Grant’s performing arts programs to any interested students. “It is so easy to get involved and to go to clubs and to audition for stuff … so get involved, make friends and go support the other arts,” she says.
Eisemann also strongly believes in the benefits of participating in the performing arts at Grant. “The performing arts programs at Grant have the ability to, not only shape your life, but completely change the trajectory of it, if you’re willing to let it happen,” he says. “I think that the benefit of joining a performing arts path is that you don’t know where you’re going to end up, and that’s what makes it so special … The point of the performing arts at Grant is not to create professional actors and singers and dancers … The point is to create people who are good citizens, good team members (and) creative thinkers.”
Eisemann is grateful for Seidman’s ability to invite people into the choir program, making the community an accepting and comfortable space for new faces. “I think Sonja is a really good ambassador for welcoming people in, and that’s another thing I really appreciate about her, is that she doesn’t act as a gatekeeper,” he says. Outside of her artistic extracurricular activities, Seidman is involved in Grant’s
Mock Trial team and Pandemonium club. She has also enjoyed other forms of art outside of performance as of late. “I’ve been really enjoying getting really crafty recently … like writing poetry, and collaging and making jewelry,” she says.
Seidman has made remarkable contributions to all of the programs she is involved in through her talent and her impacts on her peers. Eisemann says, “I feel very fortunate to have had Sonja as my student for the past three years … She’s had a measurable, lasting impact on the fabric of our community here that will have impacts well beyond her graduation.”
