INPERSON
Canonsburg native
Alexandra Loutsion returns to
Pittsburgh Opera stage and
continues to represent her
hometown around the world.
BY NICOLE TAFE
A
lexandra Loutsion has been singing her hometown
proud around the globe. This year, she was welcomed
home in a triumphant return to sing the title role of
Giacomo Puccini’s “Turandot” with Pittsburgh Opera.
Loutsion, the daughter of Susan and Nicholas
Loutsion, grew up in the east end of Canonsburg and attended
Chartiers-Houston High School. “I feel lucky to have experienced
childhood in East End Canonsburg when the community was
primarily immigrants or children of immigrants,” she says. “My
family is Greek, and I have very fond memories of visiting all of
my relatives with my grandmother between Adams Street and
Duquesne Avenue. Our church (All Saints Greek Orthodox) was
situated on Blaine Avenue, and was the center of my early life. It
is where I got my start in music—I would sing baritone with my
dad in the church choir starting at the age of 5.”
As Loutsion grew older, her world expanded. Her church
moved, the east end neighborhood changed and her activities
evolved—further cultivating her love and passion for music.
Loutsion played the flute, sang in all of the choruses in school
and, after many grueling auditions, was able to sing in all of
the Pennsylvania Music Educator Association (PMEA) choral
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festivals ranging from district to state level. She sang in all of
the school musicals, beginning in the chorus and graduating to
leading roles and took private voice lessons while participating
in professional choirs in downtown Pittsburgh including the
Children’s Festival Chorus and Junior Mendelssohn Choir.
“I was accepted to the PA Governor’s School for the Arts my
junior year of high school, which allowed me to really sing some
opera for the first time,” says Loutsion. “In high school, I was
still heavily involved in church and the Greek community and
I would volunteer for our food festival, Greek dance, went to
Greek school and would sing and chant in the choir at church.”
Outside of music, Loutsion loved academics, and would
participate in any club or volunteer organization at school that
she could. “I had a very full life growing up in Canonsburg,”
she notes. “One of the most special things about my hometown
was the plethora of experiences I had. Going to a small school
allowed me to experience a lot of different things, and I still
had time to go outside of it to Pittsburgh and be involved in my
church/Greek community. I developed a sense of responsibility
by being in a small close-knit community. I saw the fruits of my
ancestors’ labor firsthand and I saw what being a hard-working
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