Promise #1

Making promises to God should not be taken lightly. I can think of two promises in particular that have sent me on adventures that I would never have imagined.

I was born in a little town called Aulander, NC. We have one stoplight and less than 1000 people in the whole town. I had a good childhood. I left home when I was 17 to go to a performing arts school in Winston-Salem which was in and of itself a miracle due to the fact that in order for me to attend we had to put down a $1000 deposit to hold my place. There was just no way that we could have ever come up with this money on our own. My Dad was a tobacco farmer and he like may other small farmers had hit on hard times. I think that part of me actually wanted to stay home and finish out my senior year with friends anyway but nevertheless I made a deal with God. If he really wanted me to go to this school then somehow he would have to help me raise the funds. I had been to a summer program for singers a month or so prior in which we were each given a sponsor who covered the cost of the program. I thought that perhaps if I reached out to this sponsor he might be willing to put a little money towards this possible new adventure as well but it seemed pretty unrealistic. Time went by and the deadline approached. I actually think that it was the day of the deadline when the letter arrived. I remember seeing the man's name on the envelope as I sat outside of the post office in the car with my mom. When I opened it I was dumbfounded. He had not given me a token gesture, he had paid the full amount. This man who I had never even met and I am sad to say whose name I do not remember gave me a $1000 check so that I could go to the North Carolina School of the Arts. There was no going back on my promise to God and so within the month I packed my bags and I was gone. Because I took that leap of faith I have sung in famous opera houses around the world. I have sung leading roles with Placid Domingo, Renee Fleming and Bryn Terfel just to name a few. I lived in NYC for nearly 9 years performing and now I live out west but as much as it still feels like home to me I have never lived in Aulander since that summer.

The little red brick house where I grew up in the background...

We lived just next door to the Town Hall where both my mom and my grandfather served as Town Clerk. Mom would just walk over after putting me on the bus for school in the mornings.

Downtown- My mamma always said if you blinked you would miss it!