As a man soweth so shall he reap. What a person holds in his deeper mind powerfully influences his musical expression. In that subconscious storehouse lives fodder for melody and harmony, color and form; impressions based on everything you've experienced with your five senses as far back as the womb. From impressions come feelings--the ingredients of symphonies, hit songs, and great performances.
The voice is the original, organic instrument to deliver music. It's vulnerable on many levels because it's played with the mind. It can be impaired by self-doubt and fear, as in the case of my 52 year-old student Sherry, with a voice to die for. She suppressed her desire to sing all her life.
Sherry's mother was a frustrated singer who never realized her dream and couldn't tolerate her talented daughter's singing at home. Sherry grew up believing her mother: "You sound terrible and shouldn't sing!" That was echoed by an older cousin whom Sherry idolized, and who grew jealous of Sherry's talent. The cruel critique of those whom Sherry trusted as a child formed the belief she carried around all her life and extended beyond singing. Sherry believed she couldn't do anything.
Sherry's self-esteem suffered from the abuse of her mentally ill mother and others. The computer analogy is good to explain how Sherry's software and hardware had been damaged. She was obese and had difficulty breathing. The constant stress of fear and lack of confidence disrupted Sherry's immune system and she grew allergic to animals. Inhalants gummed up her throat with mucous and further inhibited breathing so she couldn't sing. Interestingly, the part of her that craved expression -- her vocal apparatus, is the part that became ill.
Sherry's case illustrates a universal truth: As above, so below. In other words, whasotever a man thinketh, so shall he be...and...what goes around comes around. The body is always listening to your mind. What you put out you get back like planting seeds.
Art is expressed in the human trinity. We are mind, body and spirit (soul). Whatever happens on our emotional and mental levels resonates and eventually manifests in our physical being. What we experience on any of the three levels creates or reinforces beliefs...and in life, belief is everything!
As a child, Sherry experienced emotional pain, then actual abandonment by her parents. Her fear of judgment kept the adult Sherry from venturing into the spotlight to sing. I coached Sherry for a few years as she developed her beautiful voice and was able to sing in public. As I was part therapist and part voice coach, Sherry benefitted from healing at the unconscious level which resounded in her body. In computer terms, Sherry made significant repairs to her corrupted operating system. Her singing grew better and brought her joy. She and her husband had even discussed opening a coffeehouse where she could do the two things she loved most...make pastries and sing!
When Sherry worked on her problems at the emotional level, where the seeds of doubt and fear had been growing, her physical world improved. She went back to school and earned a Masters Degree in Clinical Social Work. She was a fine therapist to victims of abuse. But then, she developed an aggressive cancer and died too young. However, not with the music still inside her.
I'm grateful for what she taught me. Our thoughts, beliefs and expectations do become our lives, and we can change our lives by changing all the above. Plant the seeds of the crop you want. Let's keep that in mind as we raise and teach our little Streisands, Springsteens, and Stravinskys.
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
