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By John McAlister
“EVERY time I step on stage, I feel charged by
the whole atmosphere of performing,” says Measha Brueggergosman.
“I get so excited and humbled by the people who paid money to sit in
those seats.
“Just the act of unleashing a sound or being
enveloped by an orchestra, or just raising my game to that of my pianist,
creates a constant and unwavering love – and a hunger to be better
and to do justice to what I do.”
Measha has performed with many of the finest
international orchestras and conductors in the world – including
Itzhak Perlman and Bramwell Tovey.
She has also had the privilege of giving a royal
command performance for Queen Elizabeth II; and she’s been honoured
to sing for the Prince of Wales, and former president of South Africa,
Nelson Mandela.
Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Measha grew
up in a Christian family. Her parents, Sterling and Ann Gosman, have
been members of Brunswick Street Baptist Church since before she was born.
Her brother is a pastor in Nova Scotia, and her father
began divinity studies after retiring as a technician for CBC Radio.
“Church played a huge role in my upbringing.
I started performing there, and my very first music teacher was the
music director,” says Measha.
“My faith continues to influence the decisions I
make, how I try to live my life and what I will and won’t do on
stage. It forms the basis of my security and self-esteem.”
Measha’s music training began when her
elementary music teacher recognized her gift for melody, pitch and rhythm.
“She said that I had a type of fearlessness that
might be conducive to singing lessons,” laughs Measha. “She
insisted that I also take piano lessons, otherwise I wouldn’t be able
to read music.”
Measha was thrilled that she could study piano.
Initially, she viewed her voice lessons as just an added bonus.
Her early music training followed the classical
tradition, whether she was at music lessons, singing at church or listening
to CBC Radio.
In her teen years, she spent her summers at the Boston
Conservatory; she also studied with Canadian opera star Wendy Nielsen.
She met her husband, Markus, in high school when he
was an exchange student from Switzerland. When they married, they combined
his surname, Bruegger, with hers – thus creating the name
Brueggergosman.
Measha can’t pinpoint the exact moment when she
decided to pursue voice as her education and possible career.
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“This profession isn’t a decision you
make; it’s kind of something you become,” she says.
“I never thought that I would do anything else. I simply
pursued my gift.”
Living in Fredericton provided Measha with many
performance opportunities.
“When you grow up in a small town where there is
one of everything, you quickly become the town singer for all the weddings,
funerals and bar mitzvah types of events,” she jokes.
“I have always been paid to perform. And since I
have no other marketable skills, I’m thankful and blessed that this
is working out for me as a profession.”
Measha attended the University of Toronto. In her
final year, she played Madame Lindoine in the university’s production
of Francis Poulenc’s tale of Christian martyrdom, Dialogues des Carmelites.
Since a postgraduate stint in Germany, studying under
renowned soprano Edith Wiens (also a Christian from Canada), Measha’s
career has rapidly gained momentum; she is constantly in demand for concert
recitals and operatic roles.
Her career, she notes, “has no assurances and no
retirement plan. There really is no Plan B; either it works out or it
doesn’t.”
God, she adds, “has been good to me this far . .
. I’m thrilled that he saw fit to put his hand on my life and steer
it the way he has.”
She seems equally comfortable singing with orchestral
or piano accompaniment, but the audience seems to appreciate most the
unaccompanied renditions of the spirituals she’s sung since she was a
child.
“From the earliest of times, people have been
praising the Lord through whatever sustainable sound they could
create,” she says.
“Music is simply a medium through which people
express emotion. Since God created music, as a Christian, every sound I
make I am attempting in some small, intangible, unworthy way to express how
thankful I am.”
Measha Brueggergosman’s latest CD is Surprise. Contact: en.measha.com
– courtesy of Faith & Friends
Summer/Fall 2008
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