I remembered Mr. Brown from the summer of ‘84 at the Brevard Music Festival in Brevard, North Carolina; he sang the role of Faust, I was a high school scholarship participant. This interview happened just moments after Mr. Brown had participated in a recital of music by T.J. Anderson on March 9, 1997 at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The recital was one of the many performances taking place during the Symposium for the National Black Music Caucus of the Music Educators National Conference. Our meeting was rather impromptu. Although he had come to Symposium to rekindle relationships with old friends and composers, he deemed it necessary to speak to me immediately.
I remembered Vinson Cole from an article I read in Opera News in December of 1989 entitled ’Accentuate the Positive’. The article mentioned that he was performing regularly with Seattle Opera so I decided to try to find him through the Internet Directory in Seattle, Washington. I have to admit that I was surprised to find his address, phone number and e-mail address. I was surprised yet again when Mr. Cole phoned me from Leipzig, after having received an e-mail and a phone message from me. The phone interview lasted approximately forty-five minutes.
This interview took place on March 8, 1997 in Savannah, Georgia, at the Mulberry Inn. We met at 10am for brunch. He presented himself as a dignified yet warm individual, with a wonderful sense of humor. Though brunch lasted only half an hour, the interview lasted two hours; beginning with casual conversation and then moving on to prepared questions.
Talents come in different shapes and colors: You can overcome adversity with extra effort.
Understandably, when we consider the role of Wolfram, the enchanting melody of the evening star aria is the first thing we recall. Nevertheless, this aria presents a very misleading impression
In every audition, all kinds of discrimination take place: against tall people, short people, fat people, skinny people, people whose voices are too big for the part and those whose are too small, people who are too attractive and those who are unattractive, those who are heterosexual and those who are homosexual, those whose skin color happens to be the wrong shade of black or brown or even white, those who look the part versus being able to sing the part—the list goes on. These things we cannot change, but we can learn to change the way we represent ourselves in these auditions and performances. By learning about one type of discrimination, we gain courage to face our own challenges.
To incorporate or not to incorporate, that is the question. And the answer, as with most things in life, is maybe. The benefits of doing business as a singer corporation
IRS Enrolled agent Gordon Voorhees discusses tje 1099 form and its use by singers
For most people, opera is not the first thing that comes to mind when they hear the name Tallahassee. Yet Florida’s capital city—home of Florida State University School of Music—turns
Discrimination Dear Editor: Discrimination towards black people has been talked about, but we never talk about the same issue towards Asians, who do suffer from different types of discrimination in
The following are some of the many questions received by Dr. Jahn. We have removed any identifying characteristics to maintain the singer’s privacy. The singers featured have all received separate e-mail responses. We are grateful to Dr. Jahn for all the time he takes to help the Classical Singer Community. If you have a question for Dr. Jahn, write to jahn@classicalsinger.net
More Letters home from an American soprano auditioning in Europe
