A quick note before I introduce the issue: Something is bothering me and it has been bothering me for a long time. It started long before the Oklahoma City bombing, but after 9/11, I have to say it. Why is it that classical singers have to resort to singing works written hundreds of years ago to express events and social problems happening now? Why is it that classical composers don’t seem to respond to these events quickly? I realize that classical works take longer to write, but are the composers and poets responding to these tragic events? If so, how can we connect with them and find out about their works? Is it that poets and composers are having trouble connecting quickly? I’m tired of hearing the likes of an Elton John response, because I can’t participate in that very well! Where is the response written for us? Your opinion, ideas? cjw@classicalsinger.com or write Classical Singer Magazine, P.O. Box 95490 South Jordan, UT 84095.
“Do One Hard Thing Every Day”
We asked for your New Year’s resolutions and we got them! Many of you have cast them in stone by putting them into print in this issue. May the year 2003 see them all fulfilled! One note: It was interesting to see that very few men sent in their resolutions. What’s that about?!
Two singers, Kristine Hurst-Wajszczuk, a soprano doctoral candidate from Boulder, Colorado, and Janeanne Houston, a professional singer and teacher in Tacoma, Washington, will be our models all year long as they make their way through their New Year’s resolutions. Their job is to inspire us as we watch them struggle with success… and procrastination, life’s surprises and all the things we are ALL dealing with. They will report to you, the Classical Singer community, on their monthly goals, complete with photographs. At the end of the year, we will have shared their ups and downs as they will have reached a new level in their goals.
One note about Janeanne. She was my first choice immediately. Her letter started out explaining how she resolved “to do one hard thing every day”. That impressed me so much because it is the best resolution to make when trying to build a career. That hooked me. I was just writing the e-mail to choose her when I saw that she had taken out a small ad in our magazine to promote her CD. While that shows admirable marketing savvy and shows she is someone who is already following through on her goals, suddenly it caused a dilemma for me. If I chose her, would I be accused of the dreaded sin of ‘advertorial’? On the other hand, if I didn’t choose her, would I be penalizing her for being a go-getter? Still, I thought she was the best candidate and would be a great role model for the year. I hope the ad can be looked at as a part of who she is. It did not influence my decision—except to make me go through all the candidates several more times.
If any more of you would like to jump on the bandwagon and write your resolutions, there is still time to get them on the web, where we have a folder set up. Go to the forum at www.classicalsinger.com and pull down the menu at the top of the page where it says ‘forum’. Write your resolutions down. The difference between these resolutions and the ones you usually make? The whole Classical Singer Community is watching this time. So be brave and make 2002 your year!
