Dear Editor: I enjoyed reading the article on Dorothy Byrne in this month’s [April] Classical Singer. It’s very informative and inspiring.
Like Dorothy, I [have been] studying voice seriously for [a little] more than a year, and I’m 31. Although I had studied music and voice previously, I had about a [10-year] break, and I only found my current teacher less than a year ago. So, like Dorothy, I’m having to learn musicianship, acting, and foreign language skills, and I’m learning to pace myself, since I have a full-time job.
I’m sure “Dot,” like all of us, had encounters with former singers who feel they need to “keep our eyes wide open” when entering this business, with comments such as: “Basses and baritones are in high demand,” “There’s not much of a market for sopranos/mezzos,” “You really need a rich husband/father to break in,” “It’s so hard to break in even if you’re extraordinary,” “You’re too old,” etc.
I’ve learned to question the motivation of people’s involvement in the arts. I only know of my own: to sing solos, roles, anywhere—at a senior living facility, at a library, at a park, in the subway (subway opera series), for prison inmates—anywhere that I can be heard. Being heard by anyone is important to me. Additionally, I don’t label this [path]—what I call passion—as anything other than that, passion. I [knew] . . . a former singer who seemed to insist on calling [singing] a hobby, something she had invested approximately $50,000 into, and later dropped out, saying she wished she [had] invested the money in a 401K instead.
After reading Dot’s story, my spirits are lifted. I’m inspired to continue my journey, even though it’s definitely a different path than hers, as are all of our paths. However, my motivation is the same: I’m passionate about singing and performing, anywhere that I [can] be heard, by anyone who [will] hear me. I’ll take what she advises to heart as I make the trek. —Vanessa Glynn
