SHARON — There are not many careers where a 57-year-old could be considered young, but classical music singing can be one of them.
Susan Toth Shafer has sung around the world in operas, in solo concerts and with symphonies and smaller ensembles for 30 years, with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. Yet, her best days may still lie ahead.
“My voice teacher keeps saying to me, ‘Susan, you haven’t reached your peak, yet.’ That amazes me,” said Ms. Shafer, who will open the Lenten series of concerts Tuesday at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Sharon.
The human voice is an amazing instrument, and can change over time. Ms. Shafer is a contralto, the lowest of women’s voices, and low voices tend to stay strong longer. She still is considered a “young singer.”
“I’m planning on singing forever,” she said. “It’s the only way I’m going to make up for lost time.”
Ms. Shafer was discovered by Robert Page, who has directed the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, at 25, an advanced age for serious classical music study.
Switching careers from elementary education, Ms. Shafer had the backing of her husband, Richard, and son, Chuck, a college senior.
“I’ve been really, really lucky,” she said. “When you have a family that is very supportive ... It takes a whole family to be able to do this.”
Although Ms. Shafer has been at it a long time and worked with some of the top talent in classical music, it’s a tough career path to tread, she said. She still has to audition for parts, competition can be fierce, and commitments can take her away from her family for a month or more.
“Our industry has been impacted the same way every industry has been,” she said, referring to the national economic downturn.
Opera companies have struggled, cutting back programs, and some have folded.
And yet, Ms. Shafer has managed to keep busy concentrating on gigs within driving distance of her home in New Wilmington. Despite the area’s reputation as a cultural backwater, Ms. Shafer said the local arts are alive and well, and it often does not cost much, if anything, to partake in them.
The Greenville and Youngstown symphonies — her husband is a Youngstown board member — are fabulous orchestras, and there are always opportunities, such as the St. John’s series, just around the corner, she said.
She also praised those involved in the visual arts, singling out the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Trumbull Art Gallery in Warren, Ohio, and Westminster College art professor Kathy Koop’s retrospective now showing in the college’s Patterson Hall.
“You don’t have to go to New York,” she said. “There are so many things right here.”
For Tuesday’s concert, Ms. Shafer and Paula Kubik, who will accompany her on organ, have selected five pieces from four oratories, Antonin Dvorak’s “Stabat Mater,” J.S. Bach’s Cantata 106 and Mass in B minor, and G.F. Handel’s “Israel in Egypt.”
While the pieces deal with judgment day, sitting at the right hand of the Father and the Lamb of God, the Handel piece is more upbeat and offers a bit of a break.
“When you’re singing a Lenten recital, you don’t want it all so contemplative and slow,” she said.
Ms. Shafer said she had never performed with Ms. Kubik or at St. John’s before, but is looking forward to both.
Ms. Kubik has a “stellar” reputation as a performer and director, she said.
“When she called and asked me to do this, I was really delighted,” Ms. Shafer said.
“That church is just so beautiful,” she said of St. John’s. “It’s a perfect setting for this type of thing. It’s small enough, but large enough, and has a great organ.”
A short service will be held at noon, followed by the concert at about 12:10 p.m., Ms. Kubik said. After the concert, lunch will be available, and attendees should be able to get back to work a little after 1 p.m.
Other concerts in the series: Harper Kirk, the harp player formerly known as Kirk Kupensky, March 2; violinists Jonathan and Mary Moser, March 9; Youngstown Fine Arts Brass, March 16; and Thiel College Chamber Singers, directed by Dr. Michael Bray, March 23.
Religion
A classically young singer; area woman has sung with the best
- Religion
-
-
Are we terminal generation? Signs suggest so; are you ready?
America is being threatened on all fronts. But is anyone even paying attention? Our very way of life as we know it is at stake. As Jesus revealed the future of the world to His disciples and the future church in Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus three critical questions concerning the future.
-
To cure our ills, we should reflect unity in our community
I write this on that special and official day that we honor the remarkable ministry and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And by the time you read this, I will have had the privilege of addressing those gathered in West Middlesex for the Christian Unity Service, sponsored by the Christian Associates of the Shenango Valley.
-
Christmas lights gone, but would you be a light in dark times?
“Wow! Look at all the beautiful lights” was something we heard in our car driving through downtown Sharon and the surrounding communities during Christmas. For my family, John 1:4-5 says it: “The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.”
-
Blessing of Water outdoors 1st time
Area Orthodox churches will gather on the banks of the Shenango River in downtown Sharon to perform the Blessing of Water at 1 p.m. Sunday.
-
Blessings from God come with obedience to Him
I can't imagine how frustrated God must become when He watches us strut around like a Bantam rooster as we allow our pride to get the best of us.
-
A plea like that of David: God, this year please change my life
Whenever we enter into the psalms, it feels like we are entering holy ground. We are entering a person’s inner sanctum. But, to enter the inner sanctum of a person confessing his sin to God is a place we are never allowed. The exception to the rule is Psalm 51.
-
Words can be cheap, but the right words have the power to save
My attendance at a recent Veterans’ Day program placed me within earshot of some words that characterized not only that gathering, but also provided some rich food for thought. Referring to veterans past and present, a speaker said, “We will never forget your sacrifice for us.”
-
Grinch had it right: Christmas doesn’t come from a store
December marks the beginning of winter which, to the joy of many children (and child-like adults), means the beginning of the snow season. And speaking of children, December is when we celebrate the saint of children – Saint Nicholas, known more commonly in the West as Father Christmas, Santa Claus. And if we spend this cold winter month in the quiet embrace of our families, then we end it with a bang.
-
Giving thanks is oft times overlooked on Thanksgiving
One has to admit that Thanksgiving has grown into quite an important and beautiful holiday since back in 1863 when President Lincoln first proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving. However, I believe that in too many homes the one thing that is missing from the Thanksgiving table is prayer and moments of discussion of the various blessings of life which enabled us to reach this day.
-
The good and bad about the Wall Street protesters
They may have left the front page, at least most days, at least for now. But they most certainly have not left Zuccotti Park in Manhattan’s financial district. It seems that the Occupy Wall Street protesters, who’ve inspired similar acts of civil disobedience around the country and overseas, advocate some sort of direct government intervention, to “level” the economic playing field.
- More Religion Headlines
-
Are we terminal generation? Signs suggest so; are you ready?
