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Sunday, September 28, 2014

Can A "Career Voice" Be Satisfied Without the Big Career?

Shelly Cox is a big voice, big talent singer who currently sings as a part-time professional, living in the small town of Talent, Oregon -current population of about 6,000- where she also grew up.  Shelly is a full time accountant at a CPA firm in a neighboring town, and is 7.5 months into raising her daughter and first child, Cece.  Here she opens up to us about her challenging path in pursuit of an Opera Career, and what she realized in the process.



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Krueger:  What is it that drew you to singing?

-Shelly:  I've always loved singing so it's hard for me to pinpoint what exactly drew me to singing in the first place.  I think what it really boils down to is that singing makes me feel really good....

Krueger:  At what point did you start to pursue music more formally and in what ways?

-Shelly:  I began after meeting my voice teacher Ellie Murray. I met Ellie in an extracurricular teen theater workshop that I participated in, in 6th or 7th grade. She heard me sing and asked if I'd like to take voice lessons.

Before meeting Ellie I had already been singing in my Middle School's choir. When I started I was very shy and nervous about singing and sang very, very quietly. After working with Ellie I "found" my voice and realized that I could be an asset to the choir, so I sang out more and really just enjoyed myself.

After several months of lessons, I participated in the preliminary State Vocal competition, where I got some wonderful feedback from my judge. I continued to compete through high school.  During high school I performed as much as possible: in school musicals and plays, solo and choral competitions, recitals. I also sang with Rogue Opera in the chorus. 

Krueger:  What were your goals in pursuing music formally?
-Shelly:  My ultimate goal was to become an opera singer and join some big company like the Met or SF Opera. ​

Krueger:  How did you develop the goal (what gave you the idea) to become an Opera Singer, and to pursue this goal towards joining a big Co.?

-Shelly:  I suppose the idea came from being told that I had the right kind of voice for singing in an operatic style.  The goal for joining a big Co. came from hearing about competition/auditions that seemed to be the gateway for getting one's foot in the door, per say.  

As far as pursuing my goals: I sort of felt lost there. I was taking lessons, and competing, going to University. At one point someone I respected, and who knows the business very well, told me I should just start auditioning/performing as much as possible and that a music degree wasn't absolutely necessary.  I did eventually go that route, and because of that choice I realized that being an opera singer wasn't my bag, baby :).


Krueger:  Were there specific experiences in your pursuit which helped you realize it wasn't the right path for you?


-Shelly:  I moved to San Francisco and started auditioning wherever I could.  I auditioned for churches, for choirs, for roles, and got just one callback during that time, and there were about 50 other singers for that callback.  It was really competitive, and after spending about a year doing that, I started dealing more heavily with feelings of rejection and became depressed.  It got to the point where I didn't even want to sing anymore and I basically quit.  I spent another year there feeling lost and got into a bad roommate situation, and I finally decided to move back to the Rogue Valley.



Krueger
:  How did you feel once you were back?

-Shelly:  I felt bad about it for quite a while, like I had wasted mine, my teacher's, and parents' time. Now I realize that just isn't so. I still perform and I'm a professional singer, it's just on a different scale than what I set out to do.

Krueger:  While you still have the rest of your life ahead of you, is there anything you would do differently if you had the past choices to make over again?


-Shelly:  It's hard to say, but yeah, I would have worked harder.  I didn't take it seriously enough.  I would have probably stayed in University and finished my degree.  But I don't know if that would have made any difference, I don't think I wanted it enough.


Krueger:  Do you have any advice for young singers, working to find their path?


-Shelly:  You're going to need to be prepared to do a lot of figuring things out on your own.  Especially if you live somewhere rural.  Unless you have a big support network, including financial support, live in or near a big city, and have started in the ideal ways, you're going to need to be prepared to do a lot of figuring things out on your own.  There is just not a set path and having talent is not going to make your career for you.  You really need to have the right personality for it, too.


Also, ask for help. I think that may have been one of my greatest downfalls. I was too proud/embarrassed to ask people for assistance or advice. The truth is: I think there were people out there who wanted to help me and I just didn't take advantage of it.

Shelly currently enjoys singing with the Southern Oregon Repertory Singers, the Trinity Episcopal Church in Ashland, and in whatever gigs come her way.

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