The Musician: Part 1

I never dreamed that I would pursue a career as a musician. I had made up my mind at age 8 to follow the footsteps of one of my idols, Dr. Ben Carson, and become a neurologist. I entered college (the first time) as a pre med/biology major. I left college as a vocal performance major!

Polar opposites, right? Well, not for me! I've always been a little off...

I can't really say I discovered my vocal talents. I don't even know how my major switched from pre med to music. In retrospect, all I know for sure is that I ended up exactly where I needed to be: the right University, the right voice teacher, the right piano teacher, the right opportunities. Divine intervention! By the end of my freshman year, I was a true blue music major, a member of the University Choir, and among a handful of selected singers chosen to perform in one of the world's most renowned singing groups. I was always going somewhere. One week we would be in Kentucky, the next California. I spent my spring breaks in New York City, and my summers in Spain, Italy, or in a recording studio. Those were the days! Music became everything to me. All my friends were musicians, and most of what we did involved music. It was in college where I was introduced to opera and art song. I credit my voice teacher, Ms. B, for this. From the beginning she instilled in me a respect for this music. I became her disciple. Whatever she told me to sing, I sang. Whoever she told me to listen to, I did. I remember spending late nights in the practice rooms singing and perfecting my craft. It wasn't that I had faith in my talent. Ms. B believed in me, and that's all that mattered. I would study the scores of the classics I looked forward to singing one day: Die Zauberflote, La Traviata, La Sonnambula. I listened to every record I could get my hands on. When I left college, I left in pursuit of a career as opera singer extraordinaire!