Singer Spotlight: Laura Strickling

https://www.laurastrickling.com/

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from? What is your educational and musical background?

I was born and raised in Chicago, but have lived in Baltimore (where I went to graduate school at the Peabody Conservatory); DC (where my husband went to law school); Fez, Morocco (where we studied classical Arabic for a year); Kabul, Afghanistan (where my husband started law school); New York City; and we currently make our home in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands (where my husband is a practicing attorney).
          I was a percussionist from age 11 until the beginning of college, when I took my first formal voice lesson and made the official mental switch to “singer.” My father is a pastor, and I grew up singing in church; I was always a stalwart in my schools’ choirs, but I didn’t have a great deal of exposure to classical music. I saw my first opera - Kurt Weill’s Street Scene - at the Lyric Opera of Chicago during my freshman year of college and I was hooked. After undergraduate (at Moody Bible Institute) and graduate (at Peabody Conservatory) degrees in vocal performance, I found that I didn’t know how to go about, “being a singer,” beyond starting to audition for YAPs. I had no idea what the real next steps toward building a career as a working singer were. I took a job as the Accreditation Specialist for the National Office for Arts Accreditation (which includes the National Association of Schools of Music), and put my husband through law school. He got a grant to study Arabic and we moved to Fez, Morocco and lived la vie boheme for a year, doing nothing but roaming the country of Morocco while studying classical Arabic full-time.
          When we returned to the US, I had a chance to consider anew, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” My husband encouraged me to start taking voice lessons again and I met my teacher, Elizabeth Daniels, who helped me build a solid vocal technique and encouraged me to enter competitions. No one wanted to hear me for auditions then. My applications were rejected outright (though they DID still cash my application checks!). I had no performance experience or references for the previous four years. On paper, I was nothing. But if you pay the entrance fee, competitions will let you sing. And I started to do well in competitions - building my confidence, repertoire, and network. It was through a competition that I met Rosemary Ritter, who invited me to Songfest, where I made some of my most important, enduring collaborative relationships. It was through another competition that I met composer Tom Cipullo, whose music I hold dearly, and whom I consider to be one of my career heroes. It was through competitions that I won recital performance opportunities that allowed me to explore and solidify my passion for art song repertoire and the art song community.
          The list of important, life-changing connections through my time on the competition circuit goes on and on. I consider 2010 to be the rebirth of my journey as a singer and I’m thrilled to still be out here singing, trying to create and collaborate, trying to make a difference in the singer community and in the corners of the world around me I’m privileged to intersect with.
          Since 2014, the corner of the world that I call home is a small island about the size of Manhattan in the Caribbean called St. Thomas. It’s been a challenge to manage a singing career from a non-traditional location, but by no means an impossibility. Because it’s a vacation destination, flights are numerous and relatively affordable. I can be in New York in under four hours, non-stop, and on the west coast in about the time it takes east-coasters to fly to Europe. And what a place to come home to between gigs! We had a bit of a disruption with the hurricanes of 2017. It was pretty terrifying (I’ve previously recounted our experiences in the media if you would like to search for further information), and the rebuilding continues to this day, but I’ve been amazed at the resilience and community spirit of the people of the US Virgin Islands. I’m proud to call them my neighbors. It’s amazing where life can take you!

What is one thing you wish you had known as a young singer and why?

Practical steps and skills to pursue a career in singing (that have nothing to do with singing or acting). That dreams can change. That each one of us is the one who decides for ourselves what a fulfilling life in music looks like. That having a life and interests outside of singing are not a sign of weakness.

Tell us about an obstacle you have faced during your career and how you overcame it.
 Being “too fat,” “too old,” “living too far away,” “having a child,” “not fitting in a perfect fach box” - so many PROBLEMS! And none of them matter, ultimately. None of us will ever be perfect. If you have something to say, say it!

What is one role or piece you could perform over and over and never get tired of?

Handel’s Messiah, Alfred Bachelet’s Chere nuit, Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations, Samuel Barber’s Knoxville.

If you could only give one piece of advice to a young singer, what would it be?

Develop a solid vocal technique because ultimately, you have nothing without it. Learn to filter criticism - not all of it is true or constructive. Develop strong dramatic sensibilities and skills which, I believe pairs heavily with: CARE DEEPLY ABOUT THE TEXT. Words matter. Genuinely care about the people that singing brings you in contact with - your audience, your colleagues. Music is about community - both the making of it and the sharing of it. Performers hold great power to affect the lives of those around them. Be a force for good.

Is there anything you spent too much time stressing over that didn't end up being a big deal?

Having a baby. Oh, how I worried that having a baby would end my career! But she’s three and a half and I’m still chugging along, only now I’m an immeasurably happier person because my daughter makes every day better just by existing in the world. It isn’t EASY to be a traveling singer mom, and it helps to have the world’s most supportive spouse on my team (a team that also includes grandparents, pre-school faculty and staff, and many babysitters in many cities), but I love to sing and the difficulties of making everything work from gig to gig are worth continuing to choose to pursue this career.

Where can we catch you performing next?

Handel’s Messiah, December 11th at St. James Episcopal Cathedral in Chicago. Songs by Chopin, January 3rd with the Brooklyn Art Song Society. Songs by Granados and Turina, February 15th with Cincinnati Song Initiative.