Throughout high school I made most of my money babysitting and would spend time volunteering in the church nursery, VBS, and as a counselor for outdoor ed. In college, the discipline and practice time required for a music major became my focus, but I never lost my desire for a family.
When Aleks and I decided to have kids of our own, I knew raising children would be one of the most creative things I would ever accomplish.
And even though we're told otherwise, we can't really have it all. Or maybe we can have it all, but very rarely can we have it all at the same time.
As a performance major, I was shown a common path for aspiring singers. This path includes many years and dollars put into auditions, summer festivals, young artist programs, resident artist gigs, and if you're lucky, finally a career of principal roles in a large opera houses.
When I had children, I knew that my journey as a performer wouldn't follow that protocol. It was a choice that I willingly made and one that has brought me peace and contentment. Consequently, each audition and possibility is weighted against the cost to my family and role as mother and wife. This has led me to take far less auditions than many of my contemporaries, which in turn has limited my performing opportunities.
As fulfilled as I am by being a mother, I was first an artist and still have a deep desire to create. Recently, I've decided to take an opportunity to advance my career that comes at a low cost (with regards to time) to my family.
So here's the exciting news:
I've signed a recording contract with PARMA productions to release an album in March 2018!
Releasing a CD has been a dream of mine for a long time. Even more specifically, I've wanted to record and release one of these works ever since I first performed it during my graduate work, 10 years ago.
This summer, I will be recording Jake Heggie's Eve-Song and Ricky Ian Gordon's Too Few the Mornings Be in collaboration with my friend and pianist Amanda Pfenninger. Both works are near and dear to my heart. I am drawn to the feminist texts by Philip Littell in Eve-Song, which tell the Adam and Eve story from Eve's perspective. In Too Few the Mornings Be, Ricky Ian Gordon has brought to life, eleven poems by Emily Dickinson, conveying a narrative of hope throughout the work.
I am beyond thrilled to team up with PARMA productions for this project. They are a company that supports contemporary music and makes it their mission to create quality recordings that will stand the test of time. As a result of my contract with PARMA, they will be a part of the recording process, post-production work, manufacturing of the physical product, and marketing of the finished album.
This is a large investment of money, but one that I am excited to make. Not only am I looking forward to advancing my career by making a mark as a singer and advocate for contemporary American art music, but also as a way to contribute to the existing cannon of recorded contemporary classical vocal music.
As a way to help make this project a reality, I've launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fundraise a portion of the costs. The funds raised through this Kickstarter will directly help to cover the costs of my recording session including the hall rental, recording engineer, producer, pianist, and piano tuning.
I'm extremely excited about this investment I'm making in myself and career, and now, I'd like to ask you to consider being a part of this project as well.
Donating to the creation of this album is a tangible way to help support the arts. There are not a lot of grants available for projects like this. Many of the existing grants require an affiliation with a university or a school. Many other artists raising money for projects like this, might turn to city or state arts councils. Kansas is one of the few states that does not have an arts council. The city of Wichita does have an arts council, but they don't fund projects like this.
So, this is where you, Support of the Arts, can step forward and make a difference in the life of an artist. This is what supporting the arts can look like at a very personal level. Would you consider investing in this project, and me, and help reach my goal of $5000?
You can visit this link below to donate.
There are some fun incentives at different donation levels, so please give the site a look.
Even if you can't contribute money, sharing this link with your friends and family on Facebook or email is wonderfully helpful as well.
SHE will be released March 2018.
I'm beyond excited to share it with you all.
