Creative Space with Jennifer Logue

For this episode of Creative Space, we have the pleasure of speaking with opera singer Julia Dawson. She’s a  Canadian opera singer who has been hailed by Opera News as “radiant and riveting” and by the NYT as “beautiful in face and voice.” She’s the winner of the George London Award for a Canadian Singer and the Anny-Schlemm Prize from Oper Frankfurt. Her debut solo album, Girl in the Snow, is available on all streaming platforms and her stunning film, Obscura Nox, makes its premiere at Opera Philadelphia’s O22 festival.

You can watch Obscura Nox at this link.

For more on Julia Dawson, you can visit her website: juliadawsonopera.com.

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SHOW NOTES

0:00—Intro

1:15—What’s a coloratura soprano? 

2:50—How Julia discovered opera

4:45—Maria Callas in the Attic

6:00—The schooling of an opera singer

8:45—Julia’s definition of creativity

10:33—Relaxation and learning a new role

12:14—Julia’s interests outside of opera

13:20—The move to Germany

15:28—Overcoming people pleasing 

17:50—Learning to listen to her inner voice

19:15—The stiffness of “note perfect”

21:50—Taking pleasure in creativity

23:18—The never-ending journey of an artist

24:30—Julia’s first opera film: Obscura Nox

27:14—Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and the pandemic

29:33—Is there a Latinist in the building?

31:20—Pandemic challenges in the production process

34:08—The most important message of Obscura Nox

35:26—Performing onstage vs. performing on-screen

36:32—Learning by doing

38:38—The magic of collaboration

40:43—What’s next

UPDATE:

'How Saba Kept Singing' premieres  Tuesday, April 18th on PBS!
Details  on how to watch here: https://www.pbs.org/show/how-saba-kept-singing.

For our inaugural “interview” episode of Creative Space, we have the pleasure of speaking with singer/songwriter Avi Wisnia. He’s performed around the world in venues like The Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City and The Kennedy Center in D.C., playing alongside artists like The Roots and Ani DeFranco. He recently starred alongside his late grandfather, David Wisnia, in the documentary, 'How Saba Kept Singing,' which was executive produced by Hilary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. It recounts how music and love helped David survive nearly three years in the German Nazi death camp, Auschwitz. 

While the documentary isn’t available on streaming services just yet, you can learn more about David’s story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcc8xCZ35KI. 

Inspired by his grandfather’s example to use music as a vehicle to heal and bravely move forward, Avi just released his second full-length album, “Catching Leaves."

For more information on Avi, visit: aviwisnia.com.

To sign up for the weekly Creative Space newsletter, visit: http://eepurl.com/h8SJ9b.

To become a patron of the Creative Space podcast, visit: https://bit.ly/3ECD2Kr.

SHOW NOTES:

0:00—Introduction

1:00—How did we meet again?

2:18—Musical beginnings with actual chopsticks

4:38—The Jets, Debbie Gibson, and Ben Folds

6:57—We create from everything

7:57—Fighting insecurity as an artist

10:22—Where does creativity come from?

16:20—Avi’s songwriting process

21:51— “Catching” Inspiration

24:33—Grief and a 10-year musical break

28:30—How music saved his grandfather’s life in the Holocaust

31:00—Returning to Auschwitz to perform with his grandfather

32:51—Music as a vehicle to move forward from pain

34:06—“How Saba Kept Singing”

Before digging into the interviews and deeper creative conversations, I wanted to take a few minutes to reiterate the purpose of this podcast, introduce myself, and explain my three main reasons for starting, "Creative Space."

The purpose of this podcast is to build a supportive community where we can explore, learn and grow in creativity together. I believe we are all born creative and when we exercise our creativity, our lives are happier and more fulfilling. I'm on a mission to make creativity accessible to all because we all deserve that.

How will we do this? Through conversations with makers of all kinds, from artists to performers to entrepreneurs.

So whether you're a professional creative, a hobbyist creative, or think you don't have a creative bone in your body, there's so much to be learned in each episode. 

I hope that no matter where you are in your life, no matter where you are in your creative journey—that you hear something on "Creative Space" that lights you up inside. We’re all in this together—let’s have some fun.

To sign up for the weekly newsletter, visit: http://eepurl.com/h8SJ9b.

To become a patron of the Creative Space Podcast, visit: https://bit.ly/3ECD2Kr.

If you're  fascinated by the subject of creativity, you've come to the right podcast. Whether you're a professional creative, a hobbyist creative, or think you don't have a creative bone in your body—it doesn't matter. I believe we are all creative and that exercising our creativity is key to a happy and fulfilling life.

"On Creative Space," we're going to explore and grow in creativity together, through conversations with artists, entrepreneurs, performers, filmmakers, musicians, scientists—makers of all kinds from all sorts of backgrounds.

To learn more about me (your host!), visit: jenniferlogue.com.

To sign up for the weekly newsletter, visit: http://eepurl.com/h8SJ9b.

To become a patron of the Creative Space Podcast, visit: https://bit.ly/3ECD2Kr.