A few weeks ago, I had the sheer pleasure of being part of the first Hildegards Symposium at the Colburn School. The Hildegards is a new networking group for women in classical music, based here in SoCal and supported by organizations that include LA Opera, LA Phil, and many others. As a member of the steering committee, there were many hats to be worn that day (teaching, mentoring, listening, schmoozing and the like), but the best part was watching people asking so many eager, genuinely interested questions about what it takes to build a life in the arts.
The best part of this experience was hearing so many perspectives on what’s needed, and which apparent obstacles are more surmountable than they might seem. Anxiety? Physical differences? Training gaps? There are plenty of opportunities that could fit very well, or ways to build the skills you’ll need. If your path to classical hasn’t been the same as other people’s, does that mean you’re doomed? Absolutely not. The theme of the day included audacity, determination, passion, innovation and a sense of both mission and community. But the biggest high of the day was seeing curiosity and inquisitiveness take root in so many people. That’s a lot of energy for one day. It was terrific.
Want to join the Hildegards? Have a question about your artistic life, even if it’s the life you don’t have yet? Contact me, and we’ll add you to the mailing list. I’d love to hear from all of you.
To the “Review Team” which wrote the write-up of Ordo Virtutum :
Bravi tutti! This sharing of so many textures of the experience was absolutely incredibly rich and evocative and had my eyes salivating! What grace and nuance and respect and deep understanding and appreciation were within those words.
Thank you for the glorious world of color and sound visual aspects.
Thanks, Carolyn! For those who might have missed this 2015 review, here’s a link. Enjoy!