{"id":2191,"date":"2023-03-19T23:00:39","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T03:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/?p=2191"},"modified":"2023-03-19T23:02:18","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T03:02:18","slug":"music-i-am-17-ann-moss-soprano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/music-i-am-17-ann-moss-soprano\/","title":{"rendered":"Music I Am #17 – Ann Moss, soprano"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The moment when you knew you wanted to be a musician:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don’t know if it was a moment so much as an environment — namely the environment I was raised in. My household was musical in every way, and studying an instrument was simply expected of us. Not in a pressure-filled way, more that it was just something we all did. I started piano around the time I was learning to read, so being musical developed for me right alongside other ways of being. I had lots of interests growing up, including languages and literature and art history, which, looking back, I can see were all interwoven and contributed to my becoming a singer. I suppose the moment I knew I was going to devote my energy to being a musician happened later, at Hampshire College, when my advisor called to my attention the fact that I seemed to spend the majority of my time in the music building. (At that point I was pursuing a course of study that would have led to teaching secondary school English and Literature.) My advisor essentially helped me see myself from the outside, and gave me permission to commit outwardly to a path that I was, clearly, already committed to inwardly. I switched my concentration and advisor over to music and the rest, as they say…<\/p>\n

An important skill for a career in music that does not have anything to do with an instrument or making music:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I cannot stress enough the importance of good writing skills. Very often, our written communications \u2013 whether with colleagues, mentors, teachers, institutions of learning, presenting organizations, or fans \u2013 precede our in-person interactions and set the tone for how other people perceive and relate to us.<\/p>\n

Two ways you stay motivated:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Physical activity (yoga, hiking, weight lifting) keeps me sane and energized, and cooking keeps me inspired and grounded. Creating nourishing meals is how I unwind and find my center when the twists and turns of my career threaten to uproot me.<\/p>\n

Latest Project:<\/p>\n

Lifeline<\/strong><\/a> – an album of modern-day interpretations of chants by 12th century composer Hildegard von Bingen, distilled through the lens of the artist’s experiences in quarantine and crafted remotely through innovative collaborative processes.<\/p>\n

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What inspired it:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I entered the initial lock-down phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic with a bizarre case of laryngitis that lasted about 7 weeks, accompanied by lingering respiratory challenges that prevented me from walking more than a few blocks at at time. (I most likely had COVID but was unable to get tested at the time.) When I returned to singing, Hildegard was the music I was drawn to. Singing chant in isolation made a lot of sense, but I found myself craving the collaborative process. So I reached out to instrumental colleagues who had the capacity to record themselves at home, and we co-created intricately-layered “drone” environments to serve as backdrops for, or in some cases conversations with, Hildegard’s vocal compositions.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s on it:<\/strong><\/p>\n