Who sang the National Anthem at IU's graduation? The 18-year-old who earned a grad degree.

Tiara Abraham, 18, just earned her master's in music (voice) at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music and showed her talent during the May 4 graduation ceremonies by singing "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Now she's ready to begin working on her doctorate, also at Jacobs. After all, her brother, Tanishq Abraham, has had his Ph.D. (California, artificial intelligence) since he was 19. They were both child prodigies, having joined Mensa at age 4 and beginning community college classes at 7.

Family rife with gray matter is part of teen's vocal, academic success

Their mother, BijTaj Abraham, is a veterinarian. She said the children's father, Bijou Abraham, got a perfect SAT score in math. Tiara's late grandmother Thankam Mathew (nee Bastian) was a pioneer in the field of veterinary medicine and India's first woman to earn a Ph.D. in veterinary medicine. That's considering Mathew's having grown up in the '30 and '40s in the Indian countryside, where girls' education was discouraged.

"As crowds booed (during IU's graduation), President (Pamela) Whitten started to speak, so they didn't hear when she introduced Tiara as the 18-year-old who got her master's of music from Jacobs," BijTaj said.

Tiara sang the national anthem at IU's undergraduate celebration, one of several special events where her singing the song has hushed audiences.

She's the youngest student at all of IU's campuses to earn a master's degree in 2024. Her GPA has yet to dip below 4.0 — ever.

At 10, she sang at Carnegie Hall in a "winners concert." Carnegie Hall hosts these events for international music competitions, such as the Elite International Music Competition and Concert Artists International.

A dozen years after she joined Mensa, barely out of toddlerhood, Tiara was displaying her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Davis.

Tiara and her mother, Californians, immediately relocated to Bloomington. Tiara was about to start work on her master's degree, and BijTaj wanted to supervise. They've been roommates ever since. And, yes, they still get along, happily. Both shared copious smiles and laughter on a FaceTime interview.

Tiara chose IU Jacobs from a list of 18 schools that wanted her. The Peabody Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music among them.

"And I have a wonderful teacher," Tiara said. That teacher is IU Jacobs mezzo soprano Patricia Stiles.

Influencing Tiara was IU's globally recognized reputation for opera — and the success of its graduates.

Singing roles including Adele in Die Fledermaus and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro in opera houses worldwide has been Tiara's goal since she was little. She also sings jazz and some musical theater.

"I'd like to bridge the gap between jazz and classical music," she said.

"In the Indian culture," BijTaj said, "people are skeptical about their kids going into the arts." Tiara's family, however, decided to support her after they kept noticing her zest for song — and the hard part, music theory.

What’s a child prodigy? Possibly 1 in 10 million

According to Global Child Prodigy Awards, child prodigies show signs of accomplishment very early and accomplish tasks that adults can do usually before they turn 10. They also like to experiment and can retain vast amounts of knowledge. Several studies say child prodigies are as rare as 1 in 5-10 million.

Prodigies often choose areas that use lots of rules, such as music, math, fine art and chess, according to theswaddle.com/gifted-child-prodigy-brain.

What's it like to be the youngest?

Tiara knows what it's like to be among elders. In fact, she doesn't have a best friend in Bloomington because her classmates are older than she.

"Sometimes the other students are a bit intimidated," she said. "They're amazed and shocked. They're curious about my journey. They're not used to a 16-year-old in grad school."

Tiara has met opera great Renee Fleming twice. The two talked about Carnegie Hall, classical music and opera. Tiara was the youngest in the audience for one of Fleming's concerts, and Fleming encouraged her to continue with music.

Last year, Tiara had a master class with another diva, Deborah Voigt.

"Are they pushing themselves too much?" BijTaj asks herself about her children. She makes sure Tiara gets enough sleep, which BijTaj thinks has something to do with her daughter's success. "But they eat all kinds of junk food."

When not traveling overseas to sing, practicing her voice or checking her phone — after all she's a teenager — Tiara enjoys social media and watching reruns of "Friends" and "Seinfeld."

And checking her phone. Again.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana University grad student, 18, sings National Anthem, gets master's