What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1489212
4 What's up! January 1-7, 2023 SoNA Continued From Page 3 Q. What steps did you take to make that happen — in other words, what would you tell a young artist about how to pursue their dream? A. It was a very big learning curve for me. Talent can get you only so far. The rest is hard work and tenacity. I still take lessons, and I still coach my music. This never stops; our instruments grow and change with us and we need to keep refining and understanding how they work in order to keep getting better, and to keep working consistently. Pursuing a dream is about understanding that you won't get it all at once. It's one day at a time, and it's also understanding that there are a lot of rejections. It's also knowing that there is room for all of us, we just have to find our place and where we excel. This takes years sometimes. It took me a long time to figure this out, and it still shifts from time to time. We are also able to do so much more than we know. It's important to keep challenging ourselves and moving in directions that seem impossible. Q. What is your favorite role so far? And your proudest accomplishment? A. My favourite role is usually the one I am currently working on. However, there is a song cycle that quite literally changed my life. It's called "Ayre," by Osvaldo Golijov. The challenges in this song cycle have pushed me as an artist to explore so much colour and texture in my voice and to be brave enough to share it in live performance. I also sing in Arabic in this song cycle (which is my native language). Doing this in what is typically a classical setting has moved me to share more of my Arabic songs and even to sing classical music translated into Arabic. My proudest accomplishment is my two children. They are my joy, and I get to share my values and my passions with them. Q. What do you especially enjoy and what are the challenges of singing with an orchestra as a soloist? A. Singing with an orchestra is exhilarating. Having all that sound envelop you as you sing and become part of the rich texture is extremely empowering. Also, singing with orchestra really informs the emotions and the mood that the composer intended. We hear what he felt in that moment, by the chosen instrument and by the colors it invokes. My challenge singing with orchestra is not to get too wrapped up in listening and feeling. I need to be in the moment and to be creating with them rather than giving in to its beauty.