ARTS ENCORE
Intent on Improvising
Singer Sara Emerson reaches beyond classical boundaries KARA NORMAN
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ara Emerson is a classical singer living in Kalamazoo who grew up idolizing Dolly Parton and singing in front of anyone who would listen. She went to Interlochen Arts Academy for high school, earned a bachelor’s degree in voice performance from the University of Michigan, and holds a master’s degree in music from Bowling Green State University, in Ohio. She made her international recital debut in Paris, regularly performs solo recitals throughout the Midwest, placed first in the Opera Idol Competition in 2015, and has sung at Carnegie Hall. 36 | ENCORE AUGUST 2019
So why does 36-year-old Emerson relate to the nervousness of one of her young students, a private voice client whom she’s currently teaching to improvise? “Part of being a classically trained singer and going to conservatory is to be perfect at what you do,” Emerson says. But who wants to be perfect all the time? Not Emerson, a lyric soprano with a head full of curls and a big laugh she lets loose with regularity. A baby grand piano takes up most of her dining room