Jan. 6, 2023
The Lakewood City Council had the honor to recognize Grammy Award-winning opera singer J’Nai Bridges at its first meeting of the year.
Bridges was presented with a proclamation, read by each member of Council, at the meeting. Bridges grew up in Lakewood, attending Idelwild Elementary School before enrolling in Charles Wright Academy in nearby University Place.
She received her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from the Manhattan School of Music and her Masters of Music degree from Philadelphia’s esteemed Curtis Institute of Music. She also completed a three-year residency at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Bridges has received numerous awards for her artistry and in 2020 was named one of the most influential African Americans by “The Root”. Also that year her high school Alma mater, Charles Wright, named her Alum of the Year. In 2022 The Kennedy Center announced her as one of its NEXT 50 cultural leaders.
It was a privilege to celebrate Bridges, who calls Lakewood home, as she returned to the Pacific Northwest to headline “Samson and Delilah” at the Seattle Opera this month. She is yet another example of a Lakewood youth whose hard work, persistence and talent resulted in an exceptional career that continues to break barriers.
Watch J’Nai Bridges perform for NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series