Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Marvosh.
Emily, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My immediate family isn’t particularly musical or artistic, but they value musical education within and as a supplement to school curriculum (i.e. piano lessons starting age five!). Since I have become a professional musician, my parents have ventured far further into the world and experiences of classical music than they probably ever thought they would have, and I’m grateful for their continued curiosity, encouragement, and support. Their engagement with the local Mid-Michigan performing ensembles stems directly from their experience as parents of performers, and that is one of the less visible fringe benefits of music education.
I got my bachelor’s degree (in music) from Central Michigan University, a mid-sized state school with a broad range of majors and activities; it was probably the best decision I made for my future career, because it gave me a practical and down-to-earth grounding in the Humanities, by which I mean more than a broad-based Liberal Arts education; I mean the idea of what makes us human and what makes humanity worth celebrating. Within the School of Music, I was able to perform often and experiment broadly within genres and programming, and my general education courses and social interactions were populated with a variety of personalities and perspectives.
I came to Boston for Grad School, for a ‘conservatory-style’ polishing, and fell in love with this city, its history, its vibrant arts scene and world-class performance venues. I’ve lived in Brookline, Cambridge, Jamaica Plain and now Somerville, happily learning each neighborhood’s quirks and denizens.
Has it been a smooth road?
I often say that my personality doesn’t really fit a career in music. I’m a morning person, extremely organized and rules-oriented, type-A risk-averse perfectionist with a preference for a balanced budget and an internalized sense of shame about credit card debt, having chosen a career in the arts, of all things, well, there was some cognitive dissonance.
After I got the traditional two college degrees out of the way, I really started to figure out where I fit in in the classical music world, and that process was—and sometimes still is—painful. Trying to start a career without experience, name recognition or relevant skills but WITH significant student debt is difficult for everyone, but especially for the personality I’ve described above—and then came the Recession.
On top of that, I really wasn’t very good at singing. Especially singing opera, which is almost exclusively what I had been taught. I didn’t FIT in the Opera box. But I was stubborn and circumspect; I knew myself well enough to know that if I wasn’t making music in some way, I would be spectacularly miserable. So, I set out to find the right fit for me. Turns out my personality WAS ideally suited to the life of a freelancer; I work irregularly, and for many different organizations across the country, in varied capacities, and my love of routine and organization helps keep it all together. There are a few ‘gigs’ that really feel custom-tailored to me (block that metaphor!), and I want to highlight one of them.
I got in on the ground floor with an organization that is literally built on voices like mine; the Lorelei Ensemble is one of my proudest memberships, most challenging and rewarding experiences, and the source of some of my closest friendships. It is a group of 8 women who are valued for their individuality, which makes for awesome music-making and a really amazing work experience. Our fourth CD was released September 28; it is a musical journey through the Buddhist concept of Impermanence: the only constant thing in our lives is change.
Over the past year, the classical music industry—along with all other industries– has been forced to examine its inherent sexism and gender dynamics. I sometimes sub as a radio announcer at WCRB, and when I look over the playlist, it’s difficult to find a female conductor, and impossible to find a female composer. Lorelei started its work on this disparity ten years ago.
We have commissioned over 50 works from contemporary composers, challenging works for virtuosic performers, who happen to be female. We are led by Beth Willer, a brilliant conductor, and programmer and a tireless advocate for women’s voices. We are still fighting for market share in a chamber music world underpopulated by all-female ensembles—how many can you name?
So, I make it work as a freelancer. I was, and am, terrifically lucky to live in a place like Boston, where there are many ways to work in music. I was a teaching artist with the Handel and Haydn Society; I created my own chamber music project; I discovered the rich musical tradition that was Oratorio; I commissioned composers to write music that fit my voice; I started singing in choirs and chamber ensembles across the country. I am a quick learner and a good colleague, which goes a long way in this business, and I have benefited from working with a patient and openminded teacher, Sharon Daniels; observing brilliant female entrepreneurs like Marie Helene Bernard and Beth Willer, and learning form superb musicians like Scott Allen Jarrett and Harry Christophers.
At times, it feels like I’m holding it all together with my fingernails, but at the end of the day, I love it. I love making music, talking about it, advocating for it, getting people to come to listen to it, turning it sideways to hear and see it differently. It just fits.
We’d love to hear more about your work and career so far.
Through hard work and over a decade of working in Boston, I’m flexible and confident in a wide variety of styles, and I would be proud to be considered a flexible and intelligent musician. I can’t honestly say I specialize in any one style, but from opera to chamber music to orchestral solo work, I prioritize text across all genres and disciplines. I am the most engaging and compelling performer on the stage when I am able to convey the text most fully, in terms of quality of voice and dramatic applications.
With Lorelei especially, I am proud of the work we are doing to open the door wider to young female musicians in terms of expanding a repertoire of challenging and virtuosic music and setting an example as red-blooded, colorful female musicians who are not defined by sharing a stage with men.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I absolutely love Boston. I love the history and the architecture and the way our Arts community “punches above its weight.’ I love taking public transit for the views over the Charles River and to see all the people with whom I share the city. I love the Esplanade at 6 pm in the summer. I love Charles Street in the evening when it’s snowing lightly. I love the glow of Fenway Park in October. I love walking along the Harbor and the Greenway. I love the way the late evening sun lights up the skyscrapers after it’s already set.
I wish the city spent more money on affordable housing and the Arts. I wish we invested more in public transit. I wish move-in day wasn’t September 1 for everyone. I wish I could afford to buy a house here. I wish the people who turn out for the July 4 fireworks would come to Symphony Hall even once during the season. I wish traffic weren’t terrible all the time.
Please tell us about your favorite childhood memory.
I have three fabulous aunts with awesome careers: one in music, one in visual arts, and one in television. Every time they came to visit, it was like Christmas. I just thought they were a ton of fun, and always bearing gifts and fun stories, but I think I also subconsciously absorbed their example of powerful, decision-making women who didn’t think there was anything wrong with being single or being smart. I would love to be a role model like that someday.
Contact Info:
- Email: emily@emilymarvosh.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loreleiensemble/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmilyMarvosh
- Other: http://www.emilymarvosh.com/s/Emily-Marvosh-Press-Kit.pdf
Image Credit:
Diana K. Hunt, Ars Magna, Dorene Sykes, Garrett Stinnett
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