Soaring Soprano
From an early age, Marlissa Hudson, 31, has had a love of music. Over the years, that love has blossomed into what is rapidly becoming a very productive singing career.
Hudson is a soprano that specializes in opera and classical music rather than pop tunes. But it wasn’t always that way. According to Hudson, her work in classical forms of music can mostly be attributed to the words of one of her high school teachers.
“I was in some choirs, but mostly I sang popular music until I was in the tenth grade,” Hudson said. “Then, the choir teacher said that I had a voice more like Kathleen Battle than Aretha Franklin.”
Although Hudson enjoyed singing, college brought with it a new set of priorities and a chance to explore other avenues.
“My freshman year of college at Duke University, I didn’t take any lessons or classes, and for the first time I really felt sad and missed it,” Hudson said. “It’s like how a bad boyfriend feels, sometimes you don’t know something’s important until it’s gone.”
After that, Hudson knew that she was hooked and began studying her craft in earnest, graduating from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University with a Masters of Music in Voice in 2001. That hard work has paid off, earning her an ever growing cadre of loyal devotees.
Unlike many performers, Hudson relies more on word of mouth and the internet than flashy but impersonal advertisements.
“At most of my performances, we put out a sign in sheet so we can contact the people who visited about future performances,” Hudson said.
She also said that perhaps her most loyal supporters were also those that are close to her in her off-stage life.
“My Mom has got to be my number one supporter,” Hudson said. “Her, along with my brother and my boyfriend. His family alone seems like it knows half of St. Louis. I was reading this one book, Influentials, that said that only about one in every ten people tells other people about where to eat and what to buy.” Because of that book, I’ve started focusing my networking efforts on those folks – not necessarily the richest, but definitely people involved in their respective communities.
Her policy of working on a more personal basis seems to be working, because according to her, things are getting busier.
“My performance schedule is getting hectic,” she said. “I get hired for one gig, and while I’m there, somebody will offer to hire me for something else.”
Despite having a lot to deal with in the present, Hudson is looking forward to a bright future, one where she can not only continue performing, but also one where she can give something back to the community other than her lovely voice.
“I have a two prong goal. On one hand, I want to keep performing. I also want to work in a non-profit organization that helps children receive both academic and talent training. It’s nice to want to perform, but children also need a good education, because not everybody’s going to wind up on stage.”
Although the joy of singing is often its own reward, Hudson feels that there are other compensations as well, as she realized at a recent performance.
“This is going to sound strange, but when you’re singing, you need to feel emotion without letting it trip you up. You can’t sing if you’re crying. While I was looking out at my mom in the audience, I thought about all the great things she had done for me, and I realized that I was given this gift to help other people.”
Hudson said that she realized people go to performances to help forget their troubles, and that her singing was a way of helping people to do that.
Those looking to forget themselves with an evening of wonderful music should take note, Marlissa Hudson will be performing Dec. 13 with the St. Louis Civic Orchestra, and Dec. 16 as part of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Outreach Concert Series.
For details, check out marlissahudson.com.
You can e-mail Lee Rice at leslierice60@webster.edu
