Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daveed Buzaglo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Daveed, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
My training began when I was 7 years old as a member of the Philadelphia Boys Choir. In my early years of training my focus was solely set on creating the best musical and artistic choices, while also learning to work together in an ensemble. This early training consisted of a very intense cultivation of musical skills – in fact it took me two years of training before I was permitted to sing with the performing choir. While this is certainly a very painstaking and slow way to develop skills, the attention brought to the fundamentals of singing, reading music, and working in an ensemble is something that has stuck with me in a very present way into my professional singing career.
Because of this early and intense focus in my early life the first attribute I listen for when working with new colleagues is not the quality of their voice but is their attention to detail of the musical score. As classical musicians, and especially singers, we are always working in ensembles with others. Whether it be a duet with a pianist, or being the soloist in front of a 100 person orchestra, the best way to be a great collaborator is to be as accurate and sensitive to what’s on the page as possible. To me, this is also a business decision. If our greatest promoters are our colleagues, we want to make them feel as comfortable as possible playing with us. I truly believe that in the classical music world, your musical skills are your most important business and artistic asset.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My musical studies began when I was 7 years old in the Philadelphia Boys Choir as a boy soprano. I always knew that I loved music, and even from a young age the discipline and dedication needed to develop a classical style of singing was always very appealing and structuring. As I grew and my voice changed I continued to pursue a career in classical singing as a solo opera singer. I was incredibly lucky to have an amazing first teacher, Judith Turano who always encouraged me to pursue a career in music to the furthest degree. In 2011 I decided to leave my high school after I was accepted into the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. Interlochen is an arts boarding school for high schoolers and attracts some of the best talent in the country in Visual, Performing, and Literary Arts. Being a student there was one of the most transformative experiences of my life. Being a classical singer in high school is not something which is very common and because the interest is so unique it can sometimes feel isolating. One of the most palpable benefits of going to Interlochen was finding my people. People who were interested in classical voice, in devised theater, in visual arts.These people who I met there not only have become my colleagues in the field, but also have become my friends for life. As I grew older I attended other conservatories such as the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio, Tanglewood Music Center in the Berkshires, and I have a masters degree from Stony Brook University.
One of the things that I believe sets me apart from my colleagues is my ability to move from various musical settings in an authentic style. In the classical world there is a somewhat large divide between those who sing newly composed music, and those who sing well established repertoire. Those who sing as soloists and those who find themselves in ensembles. For me, I feel just as comfortable singing a recital of classic works by Schubert or Mozart as I do premiering a new, never before performed opera. My vast experience singing as a soloist and also I am a part of some of the best ensembles in the country including being a roster member of the New York Philharmonic Chorus. I think this ability stems from my early training in the Philadelphia Boys Choir. The early and intense focus on developing my musical skills and vocabulary allowed me to use these skills to have an opinion and ability to interpret a vast array of works.
One of my proudest moments as a professional musician happened this past October. I was asked to step in two days before the world premiere performance of a new opera entitled “We the Innumerable” by Niloufar Nourbakhsh. The lead tenor had very unfortunately fallen ill and I was asked to learn the entire piece for the tech rehearsal just 4 hours from the time I received the phone call. It was one of those moments where although the stakes and challenge were steep, I felt as if I was ready for the opportunity. The performance was performed at National Sawdust in Brooklyn and recorded that evening by PBS. Here is the link to that performance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBo00feXOMw&embeds_euri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.daveedbuzaglotenor.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the work itself. So much of the business of being a working artist is based on gatekeepers. What maestro so and so thinks of you, which agent wants to hire you, which casting director sees you in a certain role. It can all feel very out of your control. However, when you are able to sit down with a score to prepare a role, have a great staging rehearsal, or connect with an audience – that’s the real payoff. For me, that’s where I feel as if I have manifested my mission as an artist.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
There is a cliche amongst artists in a response to the question of why do you pursue your art full time- the answer is “There is nothing else I could picture myself doing.” For me and all of my colleagues this is the truth. Pursuing art on a part time basis is just not satisfying enough and also not the point for many of us.
I think what creatives do different than non-creatives is that they follow what makes them happy and fulfilled and then everything follows along. Many of my friends who are in corporate fields go to work and actively detest what they are doing, but their paycheck allows them to have a fruitful life outside of their work day. For artists those boundaries don’t exist in the same way. In order to be an active performer your life has to follow your art in some form or another.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.daveedbuzaglotenor.com
- Instagram: @dbuzaglotenor