Column: Jasmine Habersham to perform Monday with the Macon-Mercer Symphony

On a performance day, Macon native Jasmine Habersham tries to get as much rest as possible, eat well and stay hydrated. Staying hydrated, she said, is important for any singer and definitely so for an operatic soprano such as herself.

She stretches to stay limber and relaxed and, as far as her voice goes, she runs through scales in the morning then again at mid-day.

“I like to warm up my voice in the shower in the morning and take advantage of that steam,” she said.

Depending on the day and how much she’s been performing, she gauges what exercise and practice to do. She said regardless, it takes a lot of work.

From late January through this past week, Habersham performed with the Houston (Texas) Grand Opera. In the past opera season, she traveled all but seven cumulative weeks and her work has included her debut with Opera North (United Kingdom) as Gilda in “Rigoletto,” appearing as the Dew Fairy in “Hansel and Gretel” with Rochester Philharmonic and, remarkably for someone of her only 33 years, debuting in the lead as Cleopatra in Handel’s “Giulio Cesare” with Atlanta Opera.

Habersham’s light is shining among the new generation of operatic performers with a voice Broadway World called “exquisite” while Opera Today remarked on its “well-controlled, silvery tone” with “an alluring presence.”

Monday, Habersham brings her gift to a home audience when she performs with the Macon-Mercer Symphony at 7:30 p.m. at the Grand Opera House. In a varied program, her part will be to sing Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915.”

“I love being versatile as a singer and flexing different muscles of my vocal ability,” Habersham said. “I love classic opera but also love singing Sondheim, Bernstein and more contemporary works in my solo performances. It’s fun to express myself in different ways.”

And she said it will be a pleasure to sing with the Macon-Mercer Symphony on the Grand’s stage, a stage she’s not a stranger to.

“I did piano recitals and whatnot there when I was young,” she said. “I think it will be healing to sing there now as an adult – like coming full circle where it all began.”

While in high school, Habersham took voice lessons at Wesleyan College and was encouraged to further study voice after graduating from Rutland High School in 2007. She went to Shorter University in Rome, Ga., for her undergraduate degree and the University Of Cincinnati College-Conservatory Of Music for her graduate. Then and since there has been an abundance of awards and honors as she’s pursued her acclaimed career.

But despite the success and a grueling schedule, Habersham said she values a balanced life.

“Family is important to me; having a life apart from opera is important; having a good balance between what I love as my work and the other parts of my life is important to me,” she said. “As much as I love opera and the opportunities I have to perform on so many stages, I know I have to keep a rich life apart from it through relationships with others. Fortunately, my husband has the flexibility to often travel with me. Even though I have so little time at home, we value that time.”

After Monday, Habersham’s calendar remains full with rehearsals and performances like reviving her role as Gilda, this time in Utah. She’ll only hint at a particularly exciting opportunity just saying she expects to travel to Barcelona.

More on Habersham, her schedule and music samplings are at www.jasminehabersham.com.

But the best opportunity to hear her is Monday at the Grand.

Another highlight of Monday’s concert is the appearance of guest conductor Peter Oundjian. Named last year as principal conductor of the Colorado Symphony, Oundjian gained international acclaim over five decades as both a performing violinist and conductor.

As a youth, among his high honors was a prestigious award presented by the late Queen Elizabeth of England herself. Oundjian established himself professionally through groundbreaking roles and performances as a violinist for more than a decade before a repetitive stress injury forced him to shift focus and rekindle a previous passion he’d had for conducting.

Prior to taking the helm in Colorado, Oundjian served the Toronto Symphony for 14 years during which time he helped bring a turnaround to the once-beleaguered orchestra through innovative musical programming and what he called an emphasis on relationships. Before that and since, he has led orchestras or guest conducted on the world’s most prestigious stages including in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston and Atlanta and in London, Sydney, Stockholm and Zurich.

As a young man, Oundjian attended the Julliard School to study violin and, while there, met and became fast, lifelong friends with a fellow violin student - Macon’s Robert McDuffie, founder of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University. Oundjian has had a 40-plus year commitment to educating young musicians himself as a visiting professor, mentor and conductor at Yale University. He has taught two masterclasses at the McDuffie Center and now will conduct the symphony that has grown from it.

Oundjian holds the center, its students and McDuffie in high regard.

“Two significant new schools have been started to train musicians since I came to the U.S. as a student,” he said. “One is The Colburn School begun by a multi-billionaire in Los Angeles. The other is the McDuffie Center begun in Macon. That’s an amazing thing to achieve and it happened through passion, persistence and a strong relationship between Bobby and Mercer and his hometown. I love the school and its students who perform at an astonishingly high level. Several have come to Yale after graduating.”

Oundjian said besides offering superior musical training, he appreciates the nature of the center.

“Students can study in a place that’s maybe not as highly pressured as somewhere like Julliard where you have to deal with Manhattan and a huge, competitive student body,” he said. “In such settings, mental health is a concern and due to the numbers, students can even quit going to class and no one will notice. Here, no one is left behind. The extremely talented faculty know their students. It’s an enormous gift.”

Far from the stereotypical stern, egotistical, stuck-in-his-ways, unapproachable conductor, Oundjian is engaging in conversation and uses words and phrases like collaborative, openness, daring ideas and creative programming when talking about conducting and leading orchestras and thus talking about the future of classical music and orchestras.

Not unlike McDuffie, he’s interested and to a degree concerned about the future if the only thing ahead is business as usual. Oundjian is interested in new paths for old music and in exploding myths.

“People say, ‘I don’t like classical music,’ but I ask, ‘Do you like “Star Wars?” “Harry Potter?” They’re filled with orchestral music, the kind you’ll hear at a classical concert.’”

Oundjian said at stake is not just the future of the music and those who perform it but its value to the human spirit as it brings emotion, understanding and even healing.

Again, in opposition to the stereotypical cartoon conductor of times past, Oundjian said he hopes to not only provide great musical direction to students and musicians but a measure of relational encouragement.

“It’s hard being a musician, especially a student or young musician starting out,” he said. “There’s a lot of doubt and there are the relatives who say you should just go into law or some traditional field. It takes courage and conviction so I want to provide every encouragement and inspiration I can as well as help provide the skills for them to work harder toward their goals, their dreams. I think when you come and conduct you have the opportunity to give the glow of a positive experience and reaffirm that they’re making the right choice.”

And for the audience? For the audience, he said he hopes for a shared experience of enjoying some of the greatest music in the world performed by great and great up-and-coming musicians.

More on Oundjian is at www.peteroundjian.com.

For information on the Macon-Mercer Symphony and ticketing for Monday’s concert, go to www.mcduffie.mercer.edu/symphony and www.thegrandmacon.com.

Also of note, the Bibb Theatre and Newberry buildings will be transformed into works of art Saturday through light and projections created by Atlanta-based artist Darya Fard and Macon artist Craig Coleman.

Called SHINE, the work is undertaken by NewTown Macon and Dashboard US to entertain and engage passersby while drawing attention to new possibilities for the historic downtown spaces. A launch party with the artists will be from 7-9 p.m. Saturday in Third Street Park between Poplar and Cherry streets. Bootz and Katz will provide music and Piedmont Brewery and Kitchen will sell beverages. The party is free.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.