Juggling career and family is not a topic unique to classical singers. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters in most every profession face the challenge of prioritizing and balancing their work and family responsibilities.
That said, some careers present more challenges than others—and professional singing ranks among the most challenging. Long periods of time on the road, evening rehearsals and performances, financial uncertainty—all present unique challenges to singers with families.
If managing to enjoy both a family and a singing career sometimes seems difficult, even impossible, why is it that so many still try to combine the two? Perhaps Beverly Clark, the character played by Susan Sarandon in the 2004 movie Shall We Dance, explains it best.
“We need a witness to our lives. There’s a billion people on the planet … I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything: the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things … all of it, all of the time, every day. You’re saying: ‘Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed, because I will be your witness.’”
Dawn Upshaw, featured in this month’s cover story, grew up singing the pop music of the ‘60s with the Upshaw Family Singers, a group her parents started. Certainly, her upbringing has influenced her unique career path, which has focused on contemporary music. Now she shares that influence with her two children, for as she says in the article, her “greatest hope is that music will always bring them immense pleasure, joy and healing.”
In another of our featured articles this month, a Classical Singer reader shares her experiences on singing while pregnant, and on how she overestimated—and underestimated—herself again and again both as a singer and mother during the months after childbirth. Parenthood teaches us about ourselves—and we hope it refines us and helps us to become better people, and in turn, better singers. As our contributing reader puts it: “It isn’t easy, and I often feel I have more questions than answers, but I know I am a richer, more contented, calmer, freer, and a less selfish person than I was before this child arrived.”
Balancing career and family takes hard work, and can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ve also included some practical advice in this issue. Michelle Kunz, in her article on involving your family in your job, offers a variety of suggestions for getting career and family to compliment each other. Whether you’re working near or far from home, you can include your family in your work, letting them know they are a priority. Connie Barnett’s article on “Placematting” offers strategies for making more time in your day for everything on your plate.
May this special issue on families help you celebrate and enhance your relationships with the precious “witnesses” in your own life.
