Tuesday evening I went to Salt Lake with the department chair, his wife (our accompanist), and four other students. We sang in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was awesome! First, I sang "Uzh Vecher" from Pikovaya Dama with Charity. Then I sang "Mira, O Norma" from Norma with Theora. Sarah and Kim finished it up with the Flower Duet from Lakme. The acoustics in that room were awesome. Before we left, I had decided to just have fun with it and stop the stressing, and I can't even tell you how much fun it was. It was so great just to be performing and making people happy without being under critical scrutiny. (I love my teacher, but. . .) The high C at the end of "Norma" just felt so good! I wish I could have been that open on my recital, but I guess I'll just be grateful it was decent.
So many people came up to us afterward just gushing sincere compliments. We surprised everyone! "Wow" was an oft-repeated word. The first man to come up to us told us his wife was going to hate him because he'd told her not to come, and now she'd missed out on hearing us perform. (I later found out he is the lieutenant governor, Greg Bell.) One of the servers was a music student at the U. He (reluctantly) told us that we did really well and that he had no idea there was such talent "down south".
I don't want to sound full of myself or anything. This is the first year that I can honestly, critically tell myself that I really am good at singing. And I feel okay about not qualifying that. People were complimenting us, and I was just so happy to have made them happy and to feel their sincerity. It was amazing. I can't tell you how good it felt. And it was so good just to get away from school and opera rehearsal for a day.
Another ingredient to the "love potion" has been my practicum. Visiting the high schools has gently reminded me of my love for singing and teaching. I pretty much had no idea what I was doing when I was in high school, but I loved doing it! Now I have a really good foundation and I can focus more on what I love to do, and not so much on how to do it.
I just wanted to remember this milestone. Singing at a Rural Legislators Conference may seem like small beans, but somehow it made a huge difference for me.
I feel like I've finally found my voice.
That's fantastic, Mary! I'm so happy for you to have such a great experience.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds wonderful. I am so glad you are able to feel passion about what you are doing in your life.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome, Mary.. :) I will definitely back you up on the "You can sing" theory. With all my heart, might, mind, soul, and musical brain. :) Tee hee. Love you, mary!
ReplyDeleteMary! Hi! oh, I have so much loved hearing from you as you comment on my posts! I've thought of you often lately too- It has been such fun reading your post tonight and catching up a bit with your going-on's! Ok, so I totally could picture you singing there in that awesome Joseph Smith building. You are a very beautiful, gifted singer! I have always wished I could sing!! So, I am also so very excited to hear you say that you have "found your voice". That totally made sense to me when I read that. I love when we get to the point where we find the confidence and comfort level with just enjoying the things that we enjoy to do. I love ya Mary!!
ReplyDeleteI think being GOOD at something you also sincerely LOVE to do is the best feeling
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful, powerful thing to know you have 'found your voice' good on ya, Mary!
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat experience. It sounds like you certainly have found your voice. I live in SL county. Small world!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting on my blog about the little leather shoes I made. They look comfy enough to wear myself, but I don't think a pair in mine and your size would look quite as cute. You never know, though, until you try! Oh, and I saw that I'm one of your sidebar links. I'm so honored!