We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jarrod Lee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jarrod, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?
I hope people will be touched and question their level of empathy after experiencing any of my collaborations as a writer. I’m hoping that some folks will consider leaning into curiosity even if it is a little different than what you thought would happen. I started as an opera singer, and presently I’m writing stories that are turned into operas while singing opera. I never considered this, but I’m learning to lean more into the passion.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I started singing at a very young age but I didn’t get into opera and classical music until I was a junior in college. By that time, I earned an Associate’s Degree in Music from Central Alabama Community College and had my eyes set on a four year institution. I auditioned for a few schools in Alabama and I was accepted into Jacksonville State University where I fell in an interesting relationship with classical music. I was familiar, thanks to PBS and the occasional tunes from opera in commercials. With help from my faculty and classmates, I learned valuable tools that still serve me today and earned my B.A. in Music Education but I wanted to perform. When the opportunity to audition for graduate school came, I stepped out on faith. One of the requirements for many applications is that you audition at the school you want to attend. I remember I only had a few days to fly to Maryland to audition for the Maryland Opera Studio at University of Maryland in College Park and one of the songs I selected was a new to me but I had listened to recordings repeatedly. I memorized it and the first time I sang it in public was at the audition. They accepted me and I was grateful because this opened a door to a different world. If Jacksonville State University was a sip of what performing could offer, the Maryland Opera Studio became the lake I jumped in. I had a taste of what it meant to be cast in a leading role and the expectations to produce. In 2010, I graduated and was encouraged to apply for a part time seasonal job with Baltimore Office of Promotions and the Arts. This job kept me in Maryland and afforded me the opportunity to audition for local companies like Baltimore Musicales, IN Series, Opera Baltimore, Maryland Opera, Washington Concert Opera and Washington National Opera (WNO). Working in the chorus with WNO helped financially support my development endeavors during the Summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and one Summer with the American Institute of Music (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. I always asked questions about how companies operated and what kept audiences coming and asked myself what I would do differently if I had the chance. What story would I write or how would I manage a company if given the opportunity. I started applying myself in other areas as an artistic consultant or administrator and eventually started working with the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA) as a Project Manager. I began to understand that organizations must support and facilitate the art that we hope will move us. I began writing stories and shared them with friends and even applied as a writer to the American Opera Initiative (AOI) with the Washington National Opera a few times but I kept my focus on singing because I thought that was my ticket. I was lucky to be a part of the extra chorus with the Metropolitan Opera in NY in their production of Porgy and Bess with continued extra chorus contracts afterwards but I still wanted more. Certain companies like IN Series gave me an opportunity to do more than sing. They supported my curiosity to create stories. Composers like Ronald “Trey” Walton and Timothy Amukele enjoyed working with me, so I thought “let’s keep going.” There was an ease I began to feel that wasn’t present always in singing. Later I was invited by the American Opera Initiative to be one of two librettist who would be selected by their chosen composers to create one of the three 20min operas that would be premiere at the Kennedy Center in January 2023. B.E. Boykin, a fabulous composer, selected me. We pitched story topics and chose “Oshun” as our chamber opera. One of the pitches called “Two Corners” was about her grandmother and after a few questions, Boykin and I found out that we were actually related. We share great great grandparents. That experience was a grand moment for me because it validated my presence and capability as a writer of stories for opera. I feel like I’m where I belong, at least for now. Who knows what might happen next.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Lean into curiosity and the door that opens. Shake the tree that is in front of you and what falls will serve you and others. Another friend said “find what makes you happy and make peace with it.” I’m finding that writing presently matches my passion and excites me in ways singing hasn’t. So I’m making peace with all of it.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding experience for me presently is when I hear how the text moved the artists and the audience. I feel like I brought a little sunshine to someone’s day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jarrodlee.com/writer/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jarrodleeopera/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JarrodLeeBassBaritone
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarrod-lee-7b119422/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jarrodleeopera
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jarrodleeopera/videos
Image Credits
Photographer: Robert Mercer, Jr. Location: The Cloisters Castle in Lutherville off Falls Road. *One of my former facilities I would staff.