The Musician: Part 2

I returned home from school with a desire to sing...anywhere! I needed stage experience, so I began auditioning at all the venues in my area. I even traveled to different parts of the state to audition for a few orchestras. I landed some great jobs as a green professional, but all that singing with no guidance led to vocal demise. I eventually was unable to sustain a note. I decided to pay Ms. B a visit, and she quickly realigned my voice! I began visiting with her more frequently to keep my voice in place.

As the voice became more consistent, I began to get gutsy. I hired a high school choir to perform with me, I held Christmas recitals, and I did joint recitals with colleagues. I auditioned and was accepted into a small, local opera company. My musical skills were improving greatly, and it showed. I soon was invited to perform in what would be my orchestral debut. Talk about cloud nine1 In retrospect, I was mediocre at best, but at the time I felt like I was really on my way. It was at this time that I began to give opera and recital work my total attention in preparation for national and international auditions. I would practice everyday, study scores, go to coaching sessions, you name it. Then, my feelings for music changed. Music became a job. I looked to it to give me sustenance and financial support. I looked at it as my livelyhood. It became emotionally draining, and it wasn't fun like it used to be.

Music is an all-consuming artform. It takes every bit of energy out of you. If you devote yourself to it, it is impossible to devote yourself to anything else. This was the problem I had. I would eat, sleep and live music, but my interests in family, health and fitness, and medicine all fell by the wayside. I could not find balance...and if you cannot give music 100 percent of yourself all the time, you need to find something else to do. I knew that I wanted to revisit my love for medicine, and I knew I wanted to get married and have a family. I decided to put music on the backburner until I had achieved my personal/academic/professional goals.