We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rosanna Wyatt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rosanna, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

For me it was never really a question. I have loved singing and performing for as long as I can remember. I can remember sitting in the back of the school bus in elementary school before any of the other kids got on and singing to myself. I grew up in a small town with a really vibrant community life, and I would perform at all the town events. I loved being on stage and I loved music. It’s all I ever wanted to do. When your calling is in the arts it’s kind of a funny thing because when you’re a kid people ask you what you want to be when you grow up, and for other kids the answer is usually something you have to become later – a doctor, a firefighter, an astronaut – those are things that kids can grow up and study and become, but when you’re an artist that’s what you are. I was already a singer and that’s all I’ve ever wanted to be. I started taking private lessons with a voice teacher when I was 12 and was blessed to be able to attend a performing arts high school. I guess if I had to pinpoint one moment, it would be when I decided to attend PVPA (Pioneer Valley Performing Arts), which was an hour drive from my town, instead of the regional public high school that my brother and all my friends went to. I remember sitting down with my parents and weighing my options and it was like – ok is this what you want to do? Is this the life you want? That “yes” has defined my path and my life ever since. That was when I really said “I’m serious about this. This is what I want to do and what I want to be.” But honestly there’s never been a question in my mind. This is what I was born to do.

Rosanna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Rosanna Wyatt and I am a musician, singer, songwriter, performer, and recording artist. I like to start with “musician” because for me it’s always about the music first. I think of myself as a vessel for music. It’s not about me, I’m just a tool, a conduit, something through which the music passes and becomes art. My instrument is my voice, first and foremost, but I also play piano and guitar. I make R&b/neo-soul and I sing in English and Spanish. I started singing at a very young age and have been studying and pursuing a career in music essentially my whole life. I was born in rural Western Massachusetts, and have lived in New Orleans, Miami, Havana, and New York City. I moved to the Los Angeles area (Long Beach to be exact) in 2020 to pursue my music, and while my career has had ebbs and flows, I’m currently at my most focused, working on an album of all new music, performing, and honing my craft.

I feel my biggest strength is communication. My music allows me to connect with people on a really essential level, and once that connection is made the communication can happen. Music is amazing because sometimes I’m able to communicate to people things that I don’t even know. People take what they need from the music. As long as I’m tapped into a place that is true and honest, people are able to connect with it and find their own truth in it, and I love being able to be a part of that. My music is an act of love. Love for music, love for myself, love for humanity and for the world. All I really want is for people to feel something true when they listen to my music.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is actually the art itself. Music is and always will be my greatest love. There is no feeling more beautiful than making music with other musicians and sharing it with the world. Personally, I love to perform. Being on stage, tapping into that frequency that is music, sharing that connection with the other musicians and the audience… that’s my happy place. It’s such a privilege for me as well to be able to move people with my music. I really feel like one of the most valuable things music does for us is that it allows us to see ourselves more clearly, and access our truths more fully. Music can touch us in places that we may not be able to access easily on a day to day basis – places within ourselves that we’ve closed off for whatever reason. The right song can shine a light right on that and allow us to see a truth that we otherwise would have avoided, or nurture a part of ourselves that we had been neglecting. It’s such a blessing for me to be able to provide the opportunity for others to have that experience. I love when people tell me that my music touched them, or when I get to hear their interpretation of something I wrote or performed. It’s cool because the same song or the same performance can mean something different for every person who hears it and to me that’s magic.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

It may seem like an obvious answer, but the best thing people can do is to actually support us. I mean real financial support. A lot of people don’t realize just how much time and effort goes into being an artist. Any kind of artist, really, but I’ll speak specifically to music because that’s what I know best. Any time you watch a performance or listen to a piece of music, there are years and years of study and preparation that went into that. Blood, sweat, and tears that we pour into our art. Lessons, endless hours of practice, tools, instruments, supplies, time spent networking, recording, contacting venues, rehearsing, etc, etc, etc. To have to do all of that and then also have another job in order to make ends meet is crushing, it’s exhausting, and for a lot of people it’s just not sustainable. Most of the musicians and artists that I know are struggling, even people who are extremely talented and have regular work with their art. If you want good art, you have to make sure that people are able to make that art and also live. You have to ensure that people don’t have to choose between practicing and sleeping or eating. I think as a society we really need to work on better supporting artists at all levels because art makes the world go round. We need to make sure we’re paying artists what they deserve, and really showing support in any way that we can.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/SannaWyatt
• Instagram: @sannawyatt
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/Rosannawyatt

Image Credits
Nikky T