We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Densmoor recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Amanda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

My mother is a pianist and she taught me piano growing up. But she quickly realized that I loved singing. I would sing all the time in the car, around the house, and I would sing for so long in the shower that all the hot water would run out and the rest of my family had to take cold showers. Seeing how much I loved singing, my parents encouraged me to join the church children’s choir and I have many fond memories of singing there.

When it was time to apply for college, my parents encouraged me to audition for music programs, even if I didn’t intend on majoring in music. They said it was better to do it and have the option than to not audition and limit my options in the first place. I ended up going to school to double major in Music and Psychology, with the intention of pursuing a Masters in music therapy. But when I got to school, I quickly realized that science was not my strong suit and that I loved my music classes. In the spring semester of my freshman year, I had a small in the opera production and I absolutely fell in love with it. I loved every aspect of opera, being on stage, wearing a costume, but most of all, I loved telling a story to the audience.

After that production, I decided that I wanted to audition to switch from the music BA program to the music performance BM program, and drop my Psychology major. In order to do this I had to audition for the new program, but when it came time to do so, I got sick and had completely lost my voice. I’m not exaggerating, I could sing 3 notes total. My teacher told me that the faculty was aware of my situation and to do the audition anyways because I could always re-audition in the fall. So I went in, sang as best as I could, and as I left, one of the faculty members on the panel said, “Well, at least you came in.” I thought I was for sure going to have to re-audition. But later that night, I got an email saying that despite my illness, the faculty decided to admit me into the BM program. I took this as a sign that this is what I’m meant to pursue with my life.

Recently I found a homework assignment from fifth grade that asked where I saw myself in the future. I wrote about how in 10 years, I would be in college, studying to either be a scientist, composer or an opera singer. The last sentence of my assignment said, “In twenty years, I will be an opera singer performing concerts around Asia and America. If I still have the time, I would like to also become a scientist.” It makes me smile to think that the younger version of myself would be proud of me today.

Amanda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m originally from Indonesia, and I grew up around classical music — attending orchestra concerts, playing piano, taking voice lessons. I’m now a freelance singer based in the Washington DC area, performing a mix of ensemble, solo voice, and opera repertoire. You can see me sing regularly a cantor and chorister at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. I also perform regularly in the DC area with companies such as Annapolis Opera, Bel Cantanti Opera, Opera Baltimore, The Thirteen, Chantry and the Baltimore Musicales.

One of the things I’m most proud of happened in October 2024. I was invited to be a soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Jakarta Simfonia Orchestra and Jakarta Oratorio Society. This is the orchestra that I saw when I attended concerts growing up, and I got to sing on stage of Aula Simfonia Jakarta which was so surreal to me. Definitely a full circle moment.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect is hands down human connection. Any time an audience member comes up to me to tell me how my performance impacted them makes it all worth it. Since I am originally from Indonesia, I make a conscious effort to perform Indonesian classical music as often as I can, and I have been so overwhelmed by people’s response the music from my beautiful home country.

Last summer, I did these outreach concerts with Annapolis Opera at different public libraries. The theme of my concert was “An Adventure Around the World” and I sang songs from the US, Austria, Indonesia, India, Spain, and France. I had audience members come up to me telling me how much they appreciated me singing in their native language, and others thanking me for exposing them to such a wide array of music that they would’ve otherwise never heard.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

3 books come to mind:
Power Performance for Singers by Shirlee Emmons and Alma Thomas
This was recommended to me by the great Carmen Balthrop, who taught me to be present in my body during performances.

A Soprano on Her Head by Eloise Ristad
This was recommended to me by a fellow singer friend, and reading it encouraged me to think outside the box, and find creative ways to approach any mental blocks.

Art and Faith by Makoto Fujimura
Someone on Facebook had posted about this book in an overview of the books they had read that year. This book really reframed my thinking on the imperfections of a live performance. It talks about Kintsugi, a Japanese technique of repairing broken pottery with gold or silver, making it even more beautiful. Seeing imperfections as beauty is what makes every performance unique and special.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @amandadensmoor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557460995346
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/amandadensmoor

Image Credits

Mike Habig, Ceylon Mitchell (M3MitchellMedia), David Andrews