Two young singers from the Vanderbilt Youth Choirs took center stage with the Nashville Symphony over the weekend.
Decani choir members Logan Harris, 12, and Lucas Maida, 11, performed the boy soprano solos in Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms at Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Sept. 11–13. The concerts opened the Nashville Symphony’s 2026–27 season and marked Leonard Slatkin’s debut as music director.
Harris and Maida spent six weeks preparing for the performances, which placed them alongside the Nashville Symphony and Nashville Symphony Chorus before audiences at the Schermerhorn.
“I am so proud of Logan and Lucas,” said Mary Biddlecombe, director of Blair Academy at Vanderbilt and the Vanderbilt Youth Choirs program. “It’s not easy for a 12-year-old and an almost-12-year-old to step out of an ensemble, where they are surrounded by other people singing with them, and sing a solo with the Nashville Symphony. They rose to the challenge with fabulous musical focus and maturity. Just as importantly, they were kind and gracious to everyone around them throughout the process.”
Biddlecombe said the experience has also enriched Decani, the Vanderbilt Youth Choirs’ ensemble for boys.
“Lucas and Logan have brought what they learned as soloists — the confidence, preparation, listening and responsibility of making music at that level — back to Decani,” she said. “This was an extraordinary opportunity for two young musicians that will ultimately strengthen an entire ensemble.”
For Lucas, the performances also became a special family experience. His father, Damon Maida, director of media relations at Vanderbilt University, sang in the Nashville Symphony Chorus.
“I was such a proud dad throughout the week of rehearsals and on Friday night,” Maida said. “Blair Academy has opened so many doors for Lucas and allowed him to explore music through both singing and piano. Chichester Psalms at the Schermerhorn was a definite ‘moment’ for him, and I was so proud to be his ‘back-up singer’ in the choir loft.”
Maida was inspired to audition for the Nashville Symphony Chorus after seeing Lucas perform Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Vanderbilt Youth Choirs and the chorus in 2024. Since joining, he has had several opportunities to perform alongside his son.
“Getting to share music at that level with my son has been a dream come true,” Maida said. “I couldn’t be prouder of him.”
For Biddlecombe, watching both singers develop throughout the experience was especially meaningful.
“It has been my privilege to coach both boys and to watch them grow,” she said. “They became stronger individual musicians through their experience with the Nashville Symphony, and that, in turn, has made all of us stronger.”
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