How do you know you want to be an opera singer? Well nobody tells you that’s for sure. It’s a gift and it lives inside you just like your internal organs. At some point it surfaces. You might like singing all the time like I did as a kid. I remember my brother and sister fighting over something during Christmas while I sat by the Creche and sang Christmas carols out loud. Really loud! Then in school I always had to be the loudest singer in the room whenever we sang songs etc.

In high school I joined the choir and sang some pretty decent solos. The resident voice teacher at the high school corraled my parents and highly suggested I start voice lessons. So at age 16 I started serious voice lessons. I transferred over to a retired professional opera singer, then to another one and finally to my long time voice teacher of 20 years. And yes, I became an opera singer. I always loved arias and becoming what is known as a “vocal athlete.”

Now this wasn’t easy by any means folks! I had to learn to breathe using my guts, let go of singing from the throat and let the air guide my voice out into resonating cavities within the head and neck area, and keep this up until the voice grew and expanded and became refined…matured. It took 10 years. However the voice keeps maturing and refining as you sing throughout your life. Not for the squeamish or faint of heart.

But like any musician you have tunnel vision and stay focused. You just keep going until it blossoms into what it should be. You major in music in college and work with master teachers in other musical areas while on your way to becoming a musical artist. I amassed both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. You also sing with local opera groups, local symphonies, and like myself Chicago Opera Theater. You have to learn performance practices for all the periods of music…Early Music, Baroque, Classical etc. You also have to work with other musical artists. Sing in ensembles, work with an accompanist etc.

And then, you have to figure out your “niche” in the vast musical world full of people who are doing what you are…tons of people. Some are better than you and you are better than some as well. For me I realized early on that I am a more disciplined singer, one who doesn’t take a lot of liberties with the text or music. My niche is more Bach since he is very disciplined musically, and German Lieder…art songs by Schubert, Schumann, Wolf etc. In fact I absolutely love German Lieder. It fits me very well. But each singer has to figure these things out for themselves. Something that will set you apart from the vast amount of singers out there.

All of this applies to other musical instruments as well. We’re all in the same boat on the same journey to find ourselves as musical artists. You literally spend your entire life becoming a musical artist and refining it as you go along. My Master’s is in Music Pedagogy so I also went into teaching several years later. I love that too.

Ohhh and…you have to be partially crazy to do this. Ha! So. Whether you are a musician or something else in the personal achievement department, you can relate to this scenario. But not to discourage anyone. Please do know that if you have the gift of music or any other type of personal achievement talent know that you can develop it into a real profession. That you can become an expert at it. Yes it takes work but it is worth it in the end. Isn’t it?

#www.makingmusicwitheve.weebly.com #opera singer #musical artist