Nullifidian
New member
The plain being the state of Kansas, and the city being Lawrence, although my home town is undoubtedly twinned with the Biblical Cities of the Plain in the minds of the ultra-conservatives who inhabit every other part of the state except this one. 
I'm a student at the University of Kansas double majoring in opera performance and biology. I'm a classically-trained tenor. I'm also a very good pianist, but these days very good isn't quite good enough, plus I compose music and write both fiction and nonfiction.
I became interested in classical primarily through exposure to modern music. I never liked the Top 40 radio, and didn't know anything better, like Jane's Addiction or The Cure, existed at the time, so I settled for my parents' jazz and classical collections. Sadly, the classical music was also the "top of the pops" stuff--the old warhorses--and I quickly grew bored. So I randomly checked out an LP of Charles Ives' First Piano Sonata at the age of 10, and it was a revelation. I spent the next few years reading histories of 20th century music and teaching myself music theory to understand the strange new musical language I'd been introduced to.
Then I picked up Wozzeck at the age of 11, and became a devoted fan of opera and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who gained my immediate respect for his tremendous acting talent (even obvious on the Deutsche Grammaphon LP) and being a champion of modern music. I can only hope that I can do it half as effectively as he did.
I wish I had either a piece of mine or me singing someone else's music to make an introduction, but I don't. I'll try to remember to record something, but doing such a unique double major means I'm swamped with work most of the time.
I'm a student at the University of Kansas double majoring in opera performance and biology. I'm a classically-trained tenor. I'm also a very good pianist, but these days very good isn't quite good enough, plus I compose music and write both fiction and nonfiction.
I became interested in classical primarily through exposure to modern music. I never liked the Top 40 radio, and didn't know anything better, like Jane's Addiction or The Cure, existed at the time, so I settled for my parents' jazz and classical collections. Sadly, the classical music was also the "top of the pops" stuff--the old warhorses--and I quickly grew bored. So I randomly checked out an LP of Charles Ives' First Piano Sonata at the age of 10, and it was a revelation. I spent the next few years reading histories of 20th century music and teaching myself music theory to understand the strange new musical language I'd been introduced to.
Then I picked up Wozzeck at the age of 11, and became a devoted fan of opera and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who gained my immediate respect for his tremendous acting talent (even obvious on the Deutsche Grammaphon LP) and being a champion of modern music. I can only hope that I can do it half as effectively as he did.
I wish I had either a piece of mine or me singing someone else's music to make an introduction, but I don't. I'll try to remember to record something, but doing such a unique double major means I'm swamped with work most of the time.
