How Can We Keep from Singing: Music and the Passionate Life - Softcover

Goldsmith, Joan Oliver

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393323641 ISBN 13: 9780393323641

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002

Synopsis

"Full of shrewd observations on creativity, friendship, and love, [this is] a book, in other words, about life."―American Way

In this "rousing book that salutes the passion, the joy, and the pleasures of singing, music, and practice" (Spirituality and Health), Joan Oliver Goldsmith celebrates America's over 20 million singers and "teaches us that...to pursue a creative passion is a true act of love" (New Age). She guides us not only behind the scenes of choirs and ensembles but inside the making and hearing of harmonious sound. "Her words soar, growl, cry and whisper. And they inspire" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). As Goldsmith shares wisdom about finding one's voice, making mistakes, teaching, friendship, and the essential elements of creativity, "you'll learn [that] much of what she's learned from music is applicable to almost any life" (Minneapolis Star Tribune). "'Singing for your life' is what Goldsmith's book is all about. Read it and sing!"―Bobby McFerrin

About this title

About the Author:

Joan Oliver Goldsmith is a freelance writer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She sings with the Minnesota Chorale, performing with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, and other orchestras.

From Publishers Weekly:

Goldsmith did everything right to become a professional singer: she was a voice major at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a singing teacher, did some commercials and some auditions in New York. Still, like so many, she never "made it." What happens to artists when they don't achieve the professional successes for which they're groomed? Goldsmith opted for an M.B.A. and becoming a successful businesswoman. At midlife, her passion for music compelled her to audition for the Minnesota Chorale. Accepted, Goldsmith found her "tessitura" a sense of home both vocally and personally. The 20 million Americans in choruses are generally referred to as "volunteers," rather than the dreaded term "amateur." She writes, "Conductor Robert Shaw fought this connotation every time he repeated his maxim, `Music and sex are too important to leave to the professionals.' Indeed, we Americans seem to have forgotten that `amateur' comes from the Latin for `lover,' not `can't make a living at it.' " And so Goldsmith learns music, makes friends, recovers from divorce and works with conductors like Shaw and Bobby McFerrin. With an ear for the music of language as well as for the nuances of pitch and meter, Goldsmith's passion for singing becomes tangible. Her words soar, growl, cry and whisper. And they inspire: rebuilding a life is a choice, she writes, which "comes wrapped in fear, fear and a particular sense of inevitability. Excitement also stirs within you and a touch of joy. You, who know entirely too well what you are risking, are about to begin."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0393323641
• ISBN 13: 9780393323641
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224