Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
It's just so important: you have people who are working in offices
all day long, and they need something to really enrich and bring joy
into their lives.
I'm Dr. Elizabeth Nash, and I'm Associate Professor in the Department
of Theatre Arts & Dance in Voice, Singing, and Speech.
Originally, my undergraduate degree was at Columbia University in New York.
Then I studied for one year at the New England Conservatory of Music with
Boris Goldovsky in the Opera Workshop. I received, after that, a 2-year
Fulbright to study opera in Germany, and that led to my opera career in Germany.
I went out and got my Doctorate in Theatre History Theory and Literature.
My research work has nothing to do, whatsoever, with what I teach. It's entirely separate.
I'm a biographer. And the first book I wrote was "Always First Class: The Career of Geraldine Farrar."
Miss Farrar was probably the most distinguished woman opera diva this country has ever produced.
And no one had ever written a book on her. So I decided that was going to be my topic.
In one of my classes, it was the time of the death of Marian Anderson, and I asked that class,
I said, "Tell me, have you ever heard of Marian Anderson?" There wasn't one soul in that class
who had ever heard of her. And I had a wonderful colleague over in Wilson Library,
Professor Patricia Turner. I said, "Would you mind coming in to the class, could you play
some recordings of Miss Anderson, and would you talk about her?"
"Oh," Pat said, "I'd love to." So she came, but she brought not only recordings of Marian Anderson,
she brought recordings of many of the other very distinguished African American classical singers,
especially of the earlier period. And I was fascinated; I'd never heard any of them.
It was quite amazing, because I then started analyzing what they were doing vocally
that was so phenomenal. And after the class, I said to Patricia, "You know, you should be
teaching a seminar on the great African American classical singers." And Pat and I decided
that's what we were going to do.
There's a strong demand for musical theatre, and I think lots of actors realize that
it's awfully hard breaking in to equity in the professional theaters. And lots of times,
when they're looking for jobs, or between jobs, if you can sing, and if you're strong
as an actor - the combination - you will always be able to pay the rent with your ability
as a musical theatre performer. It makes the person very, very versatile.
I'm very passionate about theatre, I think it's a magnificent art form. I've seen what
theatre can do for people: it inspires people, it makes them happy, it's joyous for audiences.
It's a wonderful instructional tool, it's wonderful in therapy, be it music, or be it theatre.
So, it has many, many benefits. And it has such a magnificent tradition, going back to
the fifth century in Greece. We have a very great heritage. And I think it's so exciting
to realize - there's that great tradition. And then it's our job to serve as models
for the next generation.