In the week before the magazine goes to press, I reread the issue again from cover to cover, this time with the articles in order and beautifully laid out. Often collateral themes materialize that were not apparent during the issue planning or initial article editing. This time something in particular struck me during the final cover-to-cover review: the people in this issue—both the writers and those being written about—and how our paths have intersected in recent months.
Two summer events set up these intersections.
The twelfth annual Classical Singer Convention took place in Boston this past May. Deborah Voigt, featured in this month’s cover story (p. 36) and I met briefly before her masterclass for convention participants. No one in attendance would believe that she was once scared of such work. She’s stepping into the role of teacher with the same know-how and excellence that made her famous in all of her previous roles.
Jean Del Santo from the University of Minnesota judged the CS Competition (see winners on p. 78) and presented a class on auditioning at the convention. During that class, she discovered how little singers and parents know about the myriad of factors that determine whether you can and will be accepted into a university. She shared those thoughts with me when we visited at the convention, and an article was born (p. 48).
In a truly historic coincidence, four sight-impaired singers who didn’t know each other prior and who live in difference parts of the country also attended this year’s convention. We gathered the four singers for a photo, and I asked Michelle Latour over lunch (also at the convention) to interview and cover these four remarkable women (p. 82). Watch for additional features on these singers in future issues.
Over that same lunch, we discussed another presenter at the Boston Convention: singer and entrepreneur Gina Razón. She believes singers should sing, get paid for it, and help each other to get jobs. We hope that our new “Where I Last Got Paid to Sing” column (p. 18), which features Razón this month, will be a means to that end.
Angela Myles Beeching and I first met when she presented at the 2007 CS Convention in San Francisco, and I reconnected with the Boston local again this year. In this issue she explains what it means to be an entrepreneurial learner—someone who takes control of their education (p. 66). While being on the dean’s list and getting a lead role are nice, being a successful student really comes down to so much more.
The second event this summer was the NATS Convention in Chicago. Writer Peter Thoresen (p. 24) and I met face to face for the first time in the exhibitors’ hall, where he introduced me to Katherine Drago. Her name was so familiar—and then I realized she and I had e-mailed in the weeks prior about her participation in Greg Waxberg’s article on choosing a major (p. 58). We met up later that weekend for lunch, and I discovered her vast financial aid knowledge, especially for graduate students, and another article was born (p. 118).
So why do I share these chance intersections? Because they illustrate what these very people tell us in these pages: we must put ourselves in places where we will have opportunities to meet other singers, directors, teachers, coaches, and more. Or, in other (buzz) words: we must network. When we do that, we position ourselves for those interactions to come together for good.
And you never know. Putting yourself out there just might result in crossing paths with a legendary diva like Renée Fleming. But, no, that would probably never happen. Right?
