Getting to Carnegie Hall

In the old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall, the answer is "Practice."

I think it is more than that. There are
--excellent artists who study and create and network but never get beyond a local gallery,
--good musicians who practice and perform and build a small following but never get beyond the demo CD and
--inspired writers who fill notebooks and files with whole paragraphs of words and ideas and complete some very good work but never get beyond publishing a bit here and there.

What is the difference? As a creative artist, my goal is not Carnegie Hall, but I do have goals to be met. Yes, how to get there is the question.

In a previous blog entry, I briefly mentioned soprano Tonya Currier's delightful performance during a Thanksgiving concert. Her repertoire is as wide spread as "This Little Light of Mine" (sung locally) and Marschallin in Rosenkavalier (performed with Toronto's Lyric Opera.) Next month, she will return to Carnegie Hall with the New England Symphonic Ensemble to sing the soprano solos in Faure's Requiem and Rutter's Mass of the Children. So how'd she get there?

There are lessons to be learned from Tonya Currier. She has an extraordinary presence, an extraordinary style, an extraordinary delivery. Over time, she has studied and practiced AND she has worked to develop the "extra" which capitalizes on her own unique qualities.

That's how she is getting to Carnegie Hall.

@AAB