One of my favorite things about Cabrini is the various opportunities to let your creativity shine. Aside from performing in all the Cabrini theatre productions, I take a weekly private voice lesson with one of Cabrini’s adjunct music professors, Perry Brisbon. In this blog, you will get to read about my experience taking voice lessons and how they positively impacted my Cabrini experience.
Before starting college, I had never taken a voice lesson in my life. Singing and performing in musicals had always been a hobby of mine but never anything more than a hobby. I didn’t feel the need to take voice lessons because I never saw myself performing after high school. It’s safe to say when I got to Cabrini, everything changed. I was immediately swept up into the Cabrini Theatre and loved every minute. One of my theatre friends and I were talking one day, and she mentioned she was taking voice lessons. She went on and on about how amazing the instructor was and how much she had seen her voice grow since she was a freshman. That got me thinking maybe I wanted to try voice lessons after all. I fell back in love with performing at Cabrini and wanted my voice to get stronger.
The fall 2020 semester came. We had all just gotten back on campus after getting sent home for COVID-19, and the first in-person class I had was my voice lesson with Perry. I was shaking in my boots. I had no idea what to expect. I never thought about the technique behind my singing. I just did it. When I walked in, my nerves were immediately gone. Perry was so kind and encouraging from the minute we started. He knew exactly what to say and how to help me improve. I had one lesson, and I already felt my voice growing.
Now, here I am, two years later, I’ve taken 12 credits worth of music lessons (4 classes)! I constantly think of how lucky I am every time I walk through Perry’s door. Through his encouragement and willingness to help me improve, I discovered a new level of talent I never knew I had. Perry helped me take my voice to a more advanced level. He has also set up many opportunities for me to perform and let the world hear my voice. As he kept pushing me and instilling faith in me, I kept pushing myself. Today, I’m a much more confident performer and owe so much of it to Perry. Voice lessons are one of my favorite parts of the week, and I am going to miss spending time with Perry after I graduate. Here are a few pictures from the vocal recital he organized for my friend Kerrie and me!
