How did you discover opera and what made you decide to pursue it professionally?
When I was a kid, my granny’s neighbour played old opera tapes and I would sneak over to her house to listen and sing along. From there, I took up voice lessons from the age of 8 and studied voice along with dance throughout my life.
When it came time to decide what I wanted to study at school, I was of course very confused. But I was lucky enough to take a trip to Italy with my Catholic church youth group and I prayed for a sign during a visit to St.Peter’s Basilica.
I didn’t know what to look for, but I later performed at a small local church in Toledo Spain for a mix of my church group and locals to the area. And after I finished my rendition of “Pie Jesu”, everyone in the church was crying! So I took that as my sign that this was a career God wanted me to explore.
Opera is not one of the more popular music genres here in Barbados. Were you able to receive any training here before studying overseas? If so, was finding that difficult?
I began studying voice with Andrea Thorne from age 8 and later was fortunate enough to train under Norma Bowen, who was a classical voice teacher. I was able to develop a bit of my natural voice, but I didn’t truly study opera performance until I moved to New York for school.
Speaking of studying overseas, you attended the Manhattan School of Music. Why did you choose that institution to further your training?
I was fortunate enough to do a summer program at MSM during my 6th form year—I actually missed my Secondary School graduation and final dance show in order to attend the program. It was worth it because it gave me the opportunity to test drive what conservatory life could be like specifically at MSM!
I studied with the American tenor Neil Roshenshein during the program and was offered an opportunity to further my studies under him and I took it. In my junior year, I switched to Ruth Golden’s studio and stayed with her straight into my Master’s program. It was absolutely an amazing opportunity and I definitely feel like MSM was the best choice for me.
What was it like transitioning from your environment here in Barbados to the one you had at the school?
I think growing up in Barbados gave me a secure sense of self that I will never take for granted. I was able to enter into my school year knowing who I was and what I wanted from the experience. I was also just so excited to be around people that actually understood my passions and understood most of my interests that didn’t necessarily fit in my Barbados life.
You relaunched your YouTube channel a few months ago and announced that you’re on a journey of rediscovering being an artist. How has that been going so far?
Ooop jumpscare! It’s been a trying process. Staying consistent is always the hardest part of the job. Especially when you have other responsibilities on top of your dream. I decided to bite the bullet and plan myself a concert so I could put my New Year’s resolution to perform more to the test. Decided it’s better to walk the walk not only talk the talk.
You also expressed your love of musical theatre in that video. What are you all time top 3 and what makes them so special to you?
This is such a hard one. It changes so often depending on my mood, but my current obsession is Hadestown and also EPIC: The Musical (that’s a bit more niche as its only a concept album not a stage musical), so those are more of a current top musical slot. My other will have to be Into the Woods because I adore Sondheim.
What is your dream role?
Ooh there’s too many. For opera, it’s Cleopatra, Susanna, Adina. and for musical theatre, it’s Euridice (Hadestown), Glinda, Mary Poppins.
This year you’re performing at the AllStars Festival for the third straight year. What was your experience the first time around and what keeps you going back?
First time around, I was now re-entering the singer world from my hiatus. And I was a bit scared to face what my voice might have sounded like after so much time off. However, Melinda has always been an amazing mentor and friend, who really helped me build my confidence back up.
This time around, I am feeling a lot more settled in my voice and what it sounds like. It’s just an amazing experience to perform with these amazing opera giants that Melinda always manages to bring to our shores! It’s a real class act of a show and I’m lucky to be a part of it.
I’ve learned that hard work is always the baseline, dedication is always the expectation, but having fun and being free to be creative is the end goal.
What can the audience expect from you at this year’s AllStars Festival?
The audience can expect to get a taste of great stage experiences from opera, to comedy to even magic! ASF is a great way to dip your toe into stage performances or dive head first depending on how many of the events you attend.
Melinda Hughes, the founder of the AllStars Festival, is one of your mentors. How did the relationship begin and what have you learned from her?
I met Melinda in 2017 on the brink of starting my Masters in Opera Performance. She asked me to perform with her at Cobbler’s Live, one of her other very successful concert series.
I’ve learned that hard work is always the baseline, dedication is always the expectation, but having fun and being free to be creative is the end goal. Once you have the big stage for performing, it’s in you forever. And as an artist, the world really is your stage. So try your hardest to be brave and never shy away to take a chance to shine.
What are your short-term and long-term career goals and aspirations?
Short term would be to book a performing contract somewhere. Anywhere!
Long term has 2 veins. One: I’d love to get into TV and film eventually. I love stage work, but I want a taste of all the media! Two: taking a page from Melinda’s book, I hope to have a career that affords me the experiences and the connections that I can pass on and help foster other young artists.
