We were lucky to catch up with Daniel Hendrick recently and have shared our conversation below.

Daniel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

When I was 24 years old, I was invited to Italy to participate in the ‘Caruso competition’ for young tenors. My teacher/mentor at the time was famed Tenor Giuseppe di Stefano, he was the idol of the great Luciano Pavarotti. But unfortunately that year, I had strep-throat off and on for many months, I’d get better and a few weeks later, it would return, the doctors were perplexed, they could not figure out why the strep kept returning, unfortunately, this caused me to start forcing my voice, but I was determined to compete in the competition and make my mentor Giuseppe di Stefano proud of me. (This proved to be a flawed approach).

I arrived in Italy and within two days the strep returned, no matter how hard I tried, I could not make a decent sound, but because I was the protégé of di Stefano I was advanced all the way to the finals without ever singing a note! Maestro di Stefano insisted they pass me through each level of the competition. Fortunately, the pianist heard me trying to sing in the warm-up room and insisted that I stop trying. He said, “I’m not going to let you ruin that beautiful voice.”

The next day I left Italy devastated, when I arrived home, my voice was totally gone, in the following years I went to many doctors and teachers trying to regain my voice, no one had the answer! Friends abandoned me like flies. I was devastated. After years of doctors and teachers, I gave up on that and decided they were not going to help me, at that point even my speaking was like a boy in puberty. But sometimes the answers come in
unorthodox ways!

One day while playing with my dog, he growled at me, and I growled back, in that moment I felt a connection from my brain to my voice, it was like a spark had reignited something. Back then, doctors did not know what ‘vocal dysphonia’ was so they had no idea of how to treat me. Thus, began my journey of self-discovery with my voice. Tragic physical or emotional events can cause someone to lose their voice ‘vocal dysphonia’ (I had both), the connection from my brain to the vocal mechanism was just broken!

It took several years of me experimenting with what I discovered to really get my voice back, and then I met a voice teacher named Jane Randolph who really helped me put it all together. A few later I made my debut at Lincoln Center in New York singing the role of Faust in Boito’s Mefistofele. The New York Times wrote of my debut: “As Faust in Mefistofele Daniel Hendrick was impressive, singing with a rich, secure tenor. He also cut an impressive figure on stage.” This was the turning point of my life and helped establish my international Opera career.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

When I was 16 years old, my sister asked me to sing at her wedding, My father directed me to our family den where I would find a recording of the great tenor Mario Lanza singing The lord’s Prayer, he’s the one you’ll need to listen to, he said.

I had no idea who Mario Lanza was. I found the record and began to play it.
From the first phrase I was hooked, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, this voice was absolutely divine, it transported me into an altered state of consciousness.
Not long thereafter I noticed there were other records with funny foreign names like Tosca, Pagliacci and Rigoletto, I wondered, what is that stuff? So, I took out one of the records, and listened to what felt like ‘God’ singing to me.
I played the record over and over again, I found myself on the verge of tears, I ran to my father and said “dad, what is this stuff in these foreign languages”? he said, “that’s opera son”, and with a big lump in my throat I said “dad, I want to be an opera singer”.

At this point, I was sure I was going to be a professional opera singer, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into, a few years later I found myself on a runaway train heading for a certain crash, and crash I did, at the Enrico Caruso competition for young tenors, In Milan Italy. I lost my voice, completely lost my voice, I left Italy sounding like a teenager in puberty,devastated.

Soon thereafter I frantically consulted with leading doctors and teachers throughout the U.S. all to no avail. My dream to many, seemed to meet an early end.
But I still had this ‘knowingness’ that I was to be an international tenor. Teachers, ministers and even a rear admiral tried to convince me I was living a fantasy, or a childhood dream.
Friends dropped me like flies, I felt alone, abandoned, and at times suicidal.
But the one gift I never lost, was the greatest gift of all! The gift of ‘Knowing’ one’s call.

When you ‘Know’ – you don’t give up.

When you ‘Know’ – time and space can seem to be irrelevant.

When you ‘Know’ – you just know, no matter what anyone else says or thinks.

So, how does one ‘Know”?

Well, there are always signs around us leading the way, showing us the path, much of the time they’re hidden in the shadows of life’s experiences. Unraveling these experiences is like a secret code the universe has prepared for us to decipher. Signs surrounded me throughout my life, many I experienced in real time, many I missed and didn’t understand until years later.

I struggled through obstacle after obstacle, I prepared like Rocky Balboa for the Apollo Creed fight. I became a champion, I lost it all. I became a champion again.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal now is to share my life’s experiences. Recently, I completed my memoir ‘Know You Know’. In it I describe my personal journey, the many ups and downs, the heartbreaks, and the exhilaration of achieving my life’s dream of becoming an International opera singer!

Now, I spend most of my daily time devoted to helping singers learn healthy vocal technique, (I found out the hard way just how important that is).

Because of loosing my voice early in my career, I developed very unique ‘out of the box’ techniques to help others, who feel hopeless as I did, regain their ability to speak.
It is devastating to loose one’s ability to speak, you can feel powerless, hopeless and alone. It’s amazing how the process of speaking reflects ‘who we are’, when that is taking away by Vocal Dysphonia, Stroke, or Parkinson’s disease etc., it can absolutely devastate one’s entire existence!.
Depression, anxiety and hopelessness can easily find their way into daily life.

I have a deep passion to help people restore their ability to speak again, it really changes their lives. I teach clients all over the world via Facetime, Skype and Zoom. When I see the look on their faces when they begin to speak again, it warms my heart beyond words.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

After I lost my voice, I was devastated, my dream of becoming an international opera singer seemed to most an impossibility, but I never lost hope, unfortunately, many of those around me didn’t see it the same way.

A couple of years passed by when I received a call from my Pastor saying he wanted to stop by and meet with me. I thought ‘wow’ maybe the pastor wants to offer me a job while I continue the process of restoring my voice.
Unfortunately, that was not the reason for the visit.
Along with the minister was his wife, and a Rear Admiral, (who was a deacon at the church).

The pastor said I should give up my opera career. Just like that. I thought OMG are you kidding me?

He said, “Dan, we all know you have had a dream of becoming an international opera singer, but sometimes God has a different plan for us. Ever since you lost your voice, you’ve been spending a lot of money on doctors, speech therapists, and vocal teachers. It’s clear that the responsible thing for you to do now is to get a full-time job and give up on pursuing an opera career.”

I loved our pastors and trusted them, but I knew what God had in store for me. It gave me courage to speak up. “Pastor, I appreciate your concern. I appreciate that you care enough to come and talk to me about something you feel is so important but let me remind you what the Bible says in John 20:29: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe!”

I tapped on my chest, over my heart. “I believe…” I faltered for a moment, unable to process his words that cut deep. “But you don’t.” Tears rolled down my face. “Why? Because you haven’t seen the “evidence”? Where is your faith? Just because you don’t see the hand of God upon me becoming an opera singer doesn’t mean it isn’t there. There is nothing any of you can say or do that will ever stop me from believing what I know in my heart is real and true.”
The rear admiral chimed in with similar cutting words.

(I felt like an injured dog they were kicking while it was down).

I kept my calm. I knew God had me in His hands. This “intervention” was testing me. My voice didn’t quaver.

I said, “Admiral, are there good doctors and bad doctors?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“Okay. Are there good presidents and bad presidents?”
Most certainly, he commented.
“Are there good and bad attorneys?”
Yes, of course. (He was getting annoyed at my questions).
“With all due respect, admiral. I don’t know you, and you really don’t know me, so I don’t know if you’re a good rear admiral or a bad rear admiral.

Silence hit the room. His face turned red. The two pastors could not believe what I had just said.
I took a deep breath and continued. “So please, please, don’t come into my house and tell me about leadership. Your position doesn’t impress me.”
I asked them all to leave, and they did, without saying another word. I knew I was not perfect, but I did know that everything I did, I did for my family. And I did know that God had given me my voice not only for my self-expression and creativity, but to also use it for a greater good. Eight years later I made my Debut at Lincoln Center in New York, with a wonderful review from the New York times.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.DanielHendrick.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knowyouknow2022/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.hendrick.520
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-hendrick-69641324/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TenorDanielHendrick
• Other: https://www.knowyouknowbook.com/

Image Credits
Keith Couch