Article December 17, 2018 Issue

Ageless being and joyful song

Osceola Davis-Smith

When I was invited to sing in the chamber music ensemble at the college where I teach voice, I felt it was an honor and a blessing. To me this would be another opportunity for me to glorify God in song. This particular ensemble consists of faculty members—a violinist, oboist, and pianist, along with me, a vocalist.

The ensemble organizer asked to hear some songs from my repertoire, which I sang for her. She liked my choices, and my first two years as a member were nothing but real joy from our first rehearsal to our last performance. Then came my third year. Because my primary training had been in opera, I didn’t have many more non-operatic songs of the same caliber as those I had performed in my first two years. Therefore, for the third year, I included a few operatic solos, of which she chose two.

Days later, when I was alone and was working on the selected operatic solos, I remembered my college years when these solos were introduced to me and how I so enjoyed performing them at that time. But while reviewing these solos, I was having difficulty singing them. They were no longer fun, comfortable, and effortless. But, the decision was made. The program was set. There was no backing out.

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