Big Break

For years, Lauren Steinert heard people give her some of the same advice:

“It’s tennis or music.”

“You’ll have to pick one, eventually.”

“One or the other.”

Steinert heard them talking, but she didn’t listen.

Today, the standout tennis player and coach is also touring with Fiddler on the Roof as part of the show’s cast members. As for her love for music and tennis? Neither has taken a backseat. 

“It was constant as I grew up. Everyone would say, ‘One day, you have to choose that one thing that you want to do.’ I found for me that tennis kept me grounded and almost protected me from the lifestyle that music sometimes brings out. I wouldn’t want to give that up.”

Through it all, music was always front and center. Steinert’s mother had taught her to play the piano at a young age, and eventually, Steinert discovered a love (and quite a talent) for singing. It wasn’t just the singing, though. Steinert had a love for what went into the singing.

“It was about developing technical skills. With singing and tennis, they were almost one and the same,” she said. “I was just so intrigued vocally with what went into singing, and developing. I see that being so similar to tennis, how you develop your game and build it piece by piece.”

As a high school student, Steinert was a star musically and on the tennis court. She knew she wanted to pursue music and theater, but also discovered an opportunity to compete on the tennis court at Moravian University.