Here is a cute story from the Seattle PI. Congratulations to Haben Abraham and her family, and to Marcie Palmer who scheduled Haben for her big show!
Seattle PI, July 5, 2007
9-year-old singer thrills crowd
By MARY SWIFT
P-I COLUMNIST
Is Haben Abraham destined to become an American Idol?
Who knows.
One thing’s for sure: The self-possessed 9-year-old wowed 150 guests who showed up for the Renton Salvation Army’s second annual “Need Knows No Season” fundraising banquet at the Spirit of Washington Event Center with her rendition of the national anthem.
Renton City Council member Marcie Palmer, one of the event organizers, heard about Haben, drove to Highlands Elementary where Haben will be a fifth-grader next year and asked to hear her sing.
Pulled out of class for the impromptu audition, Haben took a deep breath, looked Palmer in the eyes and belted out the national anthem with perfect pitch.
Palmer was so moved by Haben’s poise and performance that she had tears in her eyes.
Haben made an equally strong impression on the Salvation Army crowd.
“People’s mouths were hanging open. They were fixated,” Palmer says. “She’s that good.”
Haben says she’s “just glad (the audience) clapped.”
Her father, Mulugheta Abraham and her mother, Tiblets Melles — are both natives of East Africa who came to the U.S. from Holland in 1996. Mulugheta Abraham, a former Eritrean freedom fighter, now works for Boeing.
They know that their daughter dreams of becoming a singer and, with her talent increasingly evident, they support that dream — with a proviso.
“For us, education comes first,” says her father.
talent show
I hope she sings at the next IKEA Performing Arts Center Talent show.
Cathy Corman
Haben
My daughter is a good friend of Haben’s, and in addition to possessing that FABULOUS singing voice, Haben is one of the sweetest, most self-possessed young ladies I have known. That really says a lot about her!
Alecia R