Page 37 - Classical Singer Magazine November/December 2019

Rose Sawvel as Cunegonde in Amarillo Opera’s production of Candide, 2013
Peterson as Don José in Heartland Opera Theatre’s production of Carmen, 2015
Speaking as a classical vocalist in today’s competitive and ever-evolving industry, nding steady work that feeds your artistic soul and pays the bills is not always one and the same. Nor is it a task that comes easily.
According to the Washington Post, a decline in revenue for classical music organizations like opera companies and symphony orchestras throughout the United States can be traced back as early as the 1970s, with a steep drop occurring during 2008’s recession. It has resulted in fewer opportunities, yet a market bursting with aspiring singers.
Armed with dual studies in music and journalism and realizing the tide was
turning in classical music, when I started my professional career in 2003, I simultaneously took a full-time position as an editor and writer for a free weekly entertainment publication. It was a gig I held for three years before a brief stint as a project editor at a book publishing house and a bounce back to the daily grind of reporting after
I realized how much I missed being in the environment of a newsroom.
Yet, somehow, my opportunities to continue making music professionally were never lacking.
I assumed that, eventually, one career would organically give way to the other. Sixteen years later, that hasn’t been the case. Not only have I continued weaving together a steady career, but my journalism roots have grown deeper, having taken on a role as a features editor several years ago where one of the many “beats” my sta and I have the opportunity to cover is the arts.
With one leg in two vastly di erent careers, I am always fascinated to learn about other singers following two lines
of work, how they juggle rehearsal and performance schedules, manage auditions and, most of all, how they maintain a high quality in their instruments and artistry.
Having a separate career alongside singing is something that vocalists like Dustin Peterson believe as being something worth considering for those entertaining today’s market.
Rose Sawvel
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