1. How old were you when you knew your life was going to be art? I've always known my life would be about art.  The one consistent aspiration I've had was to be a singer.  I could match pitch before I could speak.  

 

2. When did you start for real? I started piano lessons around 5 or 6 years old.  I started french horn at 10.  I started jazz bass at 12. After that point I picked up any instrument I could get my hands on, I learned everything there was to learn in a concert band (except trombone, what the hell are slide positions??). And I started with classical strings late in highschool.  I started taking singing lessons at 17 but I had already started a professional career as a singer at 15 and did my first tour in Boston at 16.

 

3. Were you single minded in this pursuit or did you train/educate for a "real" job? As a junior in highschool I was on a fast track for an engineering scholarship, and that same year I played Rizzo in a production of Grease.  During a performance of "There are worse things I could do" I had a very introspective moment that reassured me that there was no way that this could be one of my last moments on a stage, so I swapped majors and started applying to music schools.  

 

4. School - Did it help, hinder, or immaterial? School was amazing for me.  I grew up in a tiny town, youngest of 4.  So by the time my music professors got to me they knew it was in my genes.  That's why I started playing french horn.  My band director already knew I had a grasp of intonation.  And when I started playing jazz bass I was learning theory before I even knew it.  That and already reading music for over a decade gave me the ability to grasp theory very quickly.  I started sight reading at 12 and learning the technical aspects of musicality at 15.

 

5. Who supported your decisions? Only my professors.  They are really the only reason I pursued it past highschool.  My mother wanted me to get a "MRS" degree, and greatly discouraged me majoring in music in college.  I spent 6 years getting my bachelors in music and it wasn't until year 4 that my parents started attending my performances.  And even then the only reason they did was because I was amassing quite a following of donors and supporters that continually asked me where my family was.   

 

6. Do you have family?  And where are they? My parents reside rurally in Kansas, on our family farm.  I was the 6th generation to be raised there.  I have 3 older siblings that reside between Kansas City and Austin sporadically.

 

7. What gigs stand out to you, looking back? Many.  I had a long performing career classically, considering my age.  At 16 I sand the national anthem for the Boston Celtics, later in my college career I won a competition that allowed me to perform a Handel aria with the local symphony.  Those would be a few moments in which I felt like I had really accomplished something.  But musically speaking I would say that learning Suzanna in the Marriage of Figaro in 9 weeks was a big one (considering it is the longest role written for a lyric soprano), playing Antonia in the Tales of Hoffman was a highlight because the technicality was so intense, and playing Blanche in the Dialogue of the Carmelites was phenomenal because Poulenc is such a complicated composer and the music is overwhelmingly beautiful and complex.  Plus the substance of that piece is incredibly moving.

 

8. Who did you like performing with? I had a conductor in college (Bob Glassmann) that was a part of the Robert Shaw Choir for many years, and he was such an amazing man to work with.  He definitely taught me that music only exists in the moment in which it is created and that it is a joint effort between everyone who is providing their piece of the performance.  Performing the Durufle Requiem under his conduction is assuredly one of the highlights of my life.

 

Other than that, the cast of Figaro, because they were some of my best friends and we were all inundated with the task of bringing a huge work to life.

 

9. What do you see as your best work? I think that is yet to come.  I have put together many pieces of work in the years I was a performer, and even though I have taken a hiatus from performing for a while, I know that I'm not done.  Being a vocalist is a very naked art, and I know that I am a much stronger person today than I was in the highlight of my career, which I think will make me a better performer and musician when I do decide to start pursuing it again.

 

10. Has your outlook on fame changed since you've achieved it? Absolutely.  Initially I thoughtI would chase the white rabbit as long as it continued to run.  But the reason I have taken time off was because the more progress I made in my career, the lonelier my life became.  As a classical musician you have no choice but to travel every 3 days to 3 months to pursue the paying gigs, and eventually I felt as if I was losing all connection with those that I loved.  That's why I decided to step away.

 

11. Has notoriety changed you? I don't believe so.  I was gifted with the ability to sing, so from birth as soon as I opened my mouth people were willing to listen.  So no matter how far along I was in my career I never felt like I had an inflated ego.  I knew what I was given, I aspired to live up to my full potential, and I ran with it.

 

12. Do you feel satisfied with yourself? Never.

 

13. How do you want to be remembered? As someone who loved and cared about people.  Generous and loving.

 

14. What are you currently working on? I have been bitten by the music bug again since starting at the one2one almost 2 years ago.  I'm inspired by the musicians I am constantly surrounded by.  But I am not inspired by rock and roll.  My grandfather gifted me his 1926 banjitar before he died, and I've been attempting to learn how to play it because that's what he wanted, and because bluegrass really appeals to me because of how it makes my theoretical brain work.

 

15. Is it as easy as it looks? Well, for me it was easy.  I have always been a natural singer and had a natural ear.  Can't thank my parents enough for good breeding.  But pursuing a financial career isn't easy emotionally.  I was a loner for some time and really thought I was cut out for the business, but being raised with a strong family orientation, I lacked that network.  There is a whole lot more to the business than just performance and shameless self promotion.  The sacrifices are endless, and everyone has to decide where they draw the line.

 

16. Is it fun? Yes and no? If I had my way I'd be performing fully produced operas in my basement with no audience.  Learning and creating music is fun; the business sucks.  Hence why I stuck with bartending.  That's a hell of a lot more fun.

 

18. What would you say to wannabee performers? Quit.  Go to technical school.  Doomsday is upon us all.  And by God, don't every play the clarinet.

 

19. Do you have pets, what kind? My husband has a dog, but I kind of like her too.  Don't tell them though.

 

20. What's more important - Talent or hard work? Talent only gets you so far. I have natural talent.  I skated by on it for a long time, I still can.  But I look up to Joan Sutherland.  Woman was talented, for sure.  But she performed essentially every role written for coloratura, lyric, and dramatic sopranos.  She had to work hard to master those roles and to do it with the veil of ease.  Anyone can produce notes, but musicality takes work.  Hard work and talent are both recognizable, but for me I respect the former much more.

 

21 Xtra. What is your take on MP3 downloads? I wish recording would just completely go by the wayside. (sorry to all the sound engineers I know and love!!)

 

I focused on studying music which was for the most part experienced solely by performance, and I can see what electricity has done to music on a much grander timeline.  It breaks my heart, but then again I can read music.  But just think where the music industry would be if the only way to learn music was by learning through seasoned instructors and not mocking things you can hear every day.  And think how much more musicians would be valued if you weren't able to dial up a tune on whatever device you have in your hand.  

 

 

 

Thanks Niles for the opportunity for me to delve into my own mind and reexamine my perspective on something that means a lot to me.  Please let me know if you actually end up using any of this!!

 

 

 

Lauren Brown

 

bartender extraordinaire

 

one2one bar

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