HOW CAN WE KEEP FROM SINGING?: Music and the Passionate Life

Goldsmith did everything right to become a professional singer: she was a voice major at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a singing teacher, did some commercials and some auditions in New York. Still, like so many, she never "made it." What happens to artists when they don't achieve the professional successes for which they're groomed? Goldsmith opted for an M.B.A. and becoming a successful businesswoman. At midlife, her passion for music compelled her to audition for the Minnesota Chorale. Accepted, Goldsmith found her "tessitura"—a sense of home both vocally and personally. The 20 million Americans in choruses are generally referred to as "volunteers," rather than the dreaded term "amateur." She writes, "Conductor Robert Shaw fought this connotation every time he repeated his maxim, 'Music and sex are too important to leave to the professionals.' Indeed, we Americans seem to have forgotten that 'amateur' comes from the Latin for 'lover,' not 'can't make a living at it.' " And so Goldsmith learns music, makes friends, recovers from divorce and works with conductors like Shaw and Bobby McFerrin. With an ear for the music of language as well as for the nuances of pitch and meter, Goldsmith's passion for singing becomes tangible. Her words soar, growl, cry and whisper. And they inspire: rebuilding a life is a choice, she writes, which "comes wrapped in fear, fear and a particular sense of inevitability. Excitement also stirs within you and a touch of joy. You, who know entirely too well what you are risking, are about to begin." (Aug.)