Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Barbara Shirvis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Barbara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

I don’t remember a time that I wasn’t profoundly affected by music of all sorts. My Dad played the banjo and the ukele for us as kids, and also records like the Kingston Trio (those harmonies!) and the opera Carmen (what power!), while my Mom toggled between the original cast recordings of My Fair Lady and The Music Man (the stories!). My paternal grandparents, originally from Lithuania, would fill the woods that surrounded their home with Tchaikovsky on the hi-fi when we visited them on Sundays after church. And during church services my other grandmother would praise and encourage my singing of the hymns. The singers that I first loved were Carole King and Karen Carpenter, followed soon by Joni Mitchell. But when I heard Ella Fitzgerald improvise, I fell in love again and decided I’d better get some schooling!

After I finished a graduate degree in Vocal Performance (in classical music – there was no instruction in other styles at the time) at Manhattan School of Music, I found myself in need of a job. I auditioned for the chorus of New York City Opera, and waited…

I didn’t hear back, so I started circling ads in the newspaper and telephoning for any sort of work I thought I might be able to pull off with my extremely specific education. When I called about a receptionist position at an auto parts store in Queens, the man who answered the phone was all business:

“To decide if I should interview you, answer these three questions,” he barked. “One, how do you spell ‘rhythm’?”

Well, I had just spent several years in music school and had written that weird word at least a hundred times: “R-H-Y-T-H-M” I replied automatically.

“Two”, he continued, “When was Kennedy assassinated?”

A dear friend whose birth day and year I knew well, had told me more than once about how his family had utterly forgotten his milestone tenth birthday, because it was the day after JFK’s shocking murder.

“November 22, 1963.” I said, rather amazed by the coincidence.

“Three: What is 7 times 8?”

Oh come on! I thought to myself. My mom repeatedly grilled my 3 brothers and me on the multiplication tables for what felt like centuries. The one she’d call out the most often was, “Seven eights?” And we competed to be the first to shout, “56!”

“Fifty-six”, I blurted gleefully, as if knowing my times tables in my twenties was worthy of a prize.

“Please!” said the gruff man, “Please, please come in to interview. You are the only person who has answered all three questions correctly!”

It was nice to be wanted, even though I had a vague sense that the voo-doo magic coincidences did not fully represent my actual qualifications. Or, did this situation somehow fit into the “when preparation meets opportunity” category?

It happened that the very same day, New York City Opera called back and offered me a position in the associate chorus. I was promoted to the regular chorus the next year, and the year after that I began singing small roles and understudying larger roles. After 5 seasons of incredible “in the trenches” experience – with several veteran colleagues astonishingly willing to guide a newbie in too many ways to count -, I was promoted to leading roles for another 5 seasons. My time at NYCO opened doors to companies and symphonies all over the US which eventually led to a 30+ year singing career.

So, my real “defining moment” was being willing to start at the very bottom rung – though I had a Masters degree – and keep showing up for the next opportunity, and the next.

I had been warned by my school mates that singing in a chorus would “ruin the voice” (it didn’t) and I should temp or wait tables instead. But I yearned to work in my field, surrounded by other musicians. Besides! I was barely qualifed to pick up the phone at an auto parts store in Queens! Waiting tables and temping would be moving farther from my dreams, so I followed my desires, I worked hard and listened and learned, as cliche and boring as that sounds.

Barbara, 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?

As I mentioned before, I spent most of my adult life as a professional classical soprano soloist. With multiple performances of over 30 leading operatic roles, countless supporting roles, symphonic and concert repertoire, as well as recitals, I am beyond grateful to have been enveloped in some of the greatest music ever written, to have experienced new locales, and to interact with so many other humans, some of them now life-long friends.

Although I’ve been teaching singing for over 20 years, I didn’t jump into it; it was a process. I was quite busy learning music and performing, balancing married life to a singer – baritone Stephen Powell -and raising our two sons in the peripatetic life. Friends and colleagues kept asking me for singing tips, and my reluctance reflected my suspicion that performing wasn’t the only requirement for teaching. But, as it turns out, decades of “field study” is in fact, phenomenal preparation for guiding others. I also dove into texts, seminars, and workshops to round out my knowledge of vocal function and anatomical terms. It’s been much more sensical to me to tack on pedagogy to my extensive real-world experience, and offer my students an array of technique, preparation, and protocol to help them reach as many of their goals as possible,

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and we all scrambled into isolation, I watched (over Zoom!) the bright faces of my high school and college-aged students visibly dim week after week, even while they bravely kept showing up for lessons, studio classes, group practice, and even recitals…all online. I wanted to do more, to help, to be a more well-rounded teacher, knowing that a performer’s mental state is inextricably linked with the ability to learn and create and express.

So, my “Covid Project” was to become a Nationally Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. I first trained and certified through the Mayo Clinic, then studied and sat for the Boards, and additionally certified as a Positive Intelligence Mental Fitness Coach. The whole process has taken 3+ years and I’ve been well-coaching since my initial training. The benefit to my teaching of singing has been unmistakable; my students are more engaged and relaxed, and I feel genuinely excited for every lesson.

I created Well Canto (r), Mental Fitness for Singers – a 12- week course focusing on strategies that help singers become more effective performers while suffering less self doubt, performance anxiety, and negative self-talk. I’ve also recently launched The Well Canto Newsletter on Substack. Published weekly, it is intended as a free resource to learn about and practice the principles of Mental Fitness, an imperative facet of a performer’s development.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

Absolutely not. Everything I am, everyone in my life is a result of all the choices and opportunities which presented themselves over the years. I grew up in a fairly typical, modest way, with parents and grandparents who emphasized traditional values like honesty, integrity, and compassion, but also education, and even more importantly, thinking for yourself. I now recognize this as wildly privileged. College was a game-changer, as I matriculated knowing little about classical music, and graduated as an opera/concert soloist! The profession requires diligence, courage, an open mind and heart, and constant self-awareness. I met my husband singing, and our two grown sons continue to be an indescribable gift to us.

Having to constantly stretch beyond one’s comfort zone results in deep personal satisfaction and confidence. Experiencing the wider world with its variety of people, cultures, landscapes, art, and innovations reveals our connectedness, which fosters meaning, and guards against smallness and the mundane.

There were some hard times, I admit. I recall being exhausted and sometimes questioned everything. I’ll never know if all the choices I made were the right ones, and I wish I’d had the presence of mind to get more help… with logistics for sure, but also with undertanding and managing fears, doubts, and stress. Overall, though, I am so proud of a life filled with music and family, colleagues and friends, and learning and teaching.

Last weekend I was in Ann Arbor attending a Simon and Garfunkle Tribute concert in which our older son was playing bass (he was fantastic, by the way!). It was such a high-quality presentation, and I was surprised that I knew almost every tune. The whole audience bopped along to the 1966 classic “59th Street Bridge Song”, and the very last line of the lyric struck me like a thunderbolt: “Life, I love you, all is groovy”.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Two related concepts: Work Ethic, and Growth Mindset. For the vast majority of us there is no Easy Street, and we can waste our energy searching for it. But we can reframe that into looking for Purpose Street or Joyous Street, or… fill in the blank! Each of us gets to choose. But we have to define our goals and know what we are willing to do to achieve them. A great way to sort things for one’s self is to first clarify personal values, then identify strengths. From there you’ll have a good idea of what you don’t want to do, and what areas need work. Then goals and the processes start to become clear and achievable, provided you’re willing to engage in the behavior that will get you there.

Sometimes we confuse ‘effort’ with ‘pain’, or even ‘failing’, and avoid it like the plague. I’ve taught students with world class voices who simply won’t practice anything that presents a challenge for them. This is the opposite of Growth Mindset, and obviously those singers will never significantly progress.

A great real-life story is when I was singing in a series of children’s concerts in the mid 1990s at the National Theatre in DC with orchestra members of the Washington National Opera, and (name-drop alert!) Bobby McFerrin was the conductor. The concerts started very early… 10:00 am. I was recovering from a cold so I got to the theatre at 8:30 to wake up my voice and drink tea, etc. In the practice room next to me I could hear a cellist already practicing when I arrived. Scales and arpeggios of every iteration eminated from that room, turning obligatory warm-ups into something exquisite. Well, it turned out the early-bird practicer was the unparralleled and world-famous cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich. From that moment on I’d inspire myself to get to work by saying, “If it’s good enough for Rostropovich, it’s good enough for me.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.WAVS.info www.barbarashirviswellness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbarashirvis/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbarashirvis1/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-shirvis-a762991a0/
• Others: https://barbaraeshirvis.substack.com/?r=t2vjn&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist

Image Credits
Sue Reno