James Cornelison is a tenor who sings The Star-Spangled Banner

The Star-Spangled Banner

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...

 and O Canada

O Canada

It has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...

 at the beginning of home games for the Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...

. Cornelison started singing the anthem for the Blackhawks part time in 1996; he has been singing the national anthem for the Blackhawks full time since 2007. In the 2010-2011 NFL playoffs, Cornelison also sang the anthem for the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He also sang for the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 opening game against the Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 of the 2011 football season on September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack

World Trade Center attack

World Trade Center attack can refer to multiple attacks on the World Trade Center in the U.S. city of New York:*World Trade Center 1993 bombings, in which the complex was damaged*September 11, 2001 attacks, in which the complex was destroyed...

.

Cornelison graduated from Seattle Pacific University

Seattle Pacific University

Seattle Pacific University is a Christian university of the liberal arts, sciences and professions, located on the north slope of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, Washington, USA. It was founded in 1891 by the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary...

 with degrees in music and psychology. He then went on to post graduate work and earned a Masters in Music from Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

in 1992. In 1995, he moved to Chicago and joined the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists.

Cornelison has won several awards for music, including:

• The William Matheus Sullivan Foundation Award
• First place in the American Opera Society of Chicago’s 1997 Vocal Competition
• The George London Foundation Encouragement Grant

When he is not singing, Cornelison works in real estate for Rubloff Residential Properties.

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