Dear Singers,
The terrorist attack of September 11th has made this month of Thanksgiving more poignant than any other has been. For the first time in our lives, we appreciate the wonderful gift of living in a free country because some of our freedoms have been taken away. We are staring at the certainty of an extended war for the first time in the entire lives of many of us. We look at our family and friends with more love because we feel the grief of those who are not so lucky. It is the beginning of a very bittersweet holiday season.
Singers have a special job to do now. The day after the attacks, Classical Singer sent out a mass email to the 3000 of you who are signed up to our email service. The gist was to remind singers of the power of music to heal wounds in this world; to encourage them to use their gifts; to go out and find opportunities to help heal by offering to sing in schools, churches, board meetings and town meetings. I also issued a call for organizers to start benefit concerts so that the highest art could have a chance to help in the healing process.
The response was immediate and heartwarming. It reminded me again that singers are very, very remarkable people. We have included many of the letters in this issue’s letters section and urge you to read them and then to “go and do likewise.”
I was out driving today, watching all the policemen out doing their job of blocking off traffic to New York and thinking about how we are all wonderful, amazing cogs in a great machine. If each of us does the job we were put here to do, the world could function so well. Are you out there doing the job you were meant to do, or are you still just waiting for someone to come along and tell you what to do? You were born with a gift to be a singer, and that gift may be needed more than ever in the days ahead. I hope you will get out there and start singing. “God Bless America” comes to mind. -CJ Williamson, Editor
P.S. If you are not signed up to be a part of the Classical Singer Community, I urge you to go to our homepage and sign up. There is no charge, and we keep your email addresses completely private. This is the only way we can communicate with you in an emergency and it is also the way we continue to build the feeling of community among singers. Please join singers all over the world. Go to www.classicalsinger.com for an easy click-through.
