What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1489212
BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette W hat do you do after you sell out all your December performances? If you're the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, you bring in a world-renowned soprano, Miriam Khalil, to sing "the best-selling contemporary classical album of all time," Henryk Górecki's "Symphony of Sorrows." And then you add to the program Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms featuring the SoNA Singers and William Grant Still's "Mother and Child." What you get, says SoNA Music Director Paul Haas, is a "cathartic, emotional program [that] touches a core human experience — each piece evokes the love that exists across time, between a mother and her child." Khalil, known for her nontraditional performances of opera, art song and concert repertoire, has sung everything from Mimi in "La Boheme" to Susanna in "Le Nozze di Figaro" and has won awards in both North America and the United Kingdom. She took time over the holidays to answer five questions for What's Up! Q. Tell us about the moment when you first felt the magic of music. A. I don't remember the moment, but I know that I have loved music from my earliest memories. I grew up in Damascus, Syria, and I was part of our church choir from the age of 3. Music was my refuge. I would sing the church hymns when I was scared, and I would sing Fairuz songs ( a very famous Lebanese singer) on car trips and for whoever would listen. When we moved to Canada, I was 7. I joined the school choir before I could speak English and sang my first school solo a year later. Singing helped me feel special and unique, when I was struggling with language and fitting in. Music was there for me at some of the hardest moments and some of the best moments of my life. Q. When and how did you know you wanted to pursue that magic as a career? A. I always knew I wanted to sing. I knew because it brought me comfort, and it gave me a voice (no pun intended) in situations when I felt invisible. In high school though, I had a guidance counselor that encouraged me to do a co-op placement in music therapy. That was the first time I realized I could actually continue my music studies in university. This was wonderful because I really wasn't interested in anything else. I auditioned to major in voice, in hopes of switching to music therapy once I had all the required courses. However, one class in opera workshop sealed the deal for me, and I realized that I wanted to be an opera singer instead. It was quite amazing to hear the amazing voices of my peers and be so moved by the music. January 1-7, 2023 What's up! 3 Faq SoNA: 'Mother and Child' WHEN — 7:30 p.m. Jan. 7 WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville COST — $36-$60 INFO — sonamusic.org or 443-5600 WHaT'S NEXT — On March 11, the season continues with New Canons, a concert featuring new works that will be presented on SoNA's upcoming debut album release. See SoNa Page 4 Five Minutes, Five Questions Soprano Miriam Khalil Miriam Khalil is a graduate of the prestigious Canadian Opera Company Ensemble studio, the steans Institute for young artists (ravinia) and the Britten-pears young artist programme in England. While in her last year of the COC Ensemble studio, she advanced to the semifinals of the Metropolitan Opera Council auditions and represented the Great Lakes region on the Met stage, during which she was featured in the documentary film "the audition." (Courtesy photo/Miriam Khalil) 5x5