Arts Professional Story: Eric Miranda

While studying French and music as an undergraduate, I became disillusioned with the career path I was being encouraged to take Music Education. I knew I wanted to perform, not teach, and I also wanted to see Europe. Maybe my professors were a little under-involved or maybe I lacked confidence, but even though I took classical voice lessons every year of college, I was never certain that I could build a singing career. I certainly knew that I didn’t yet have the technical ability to sing professionally. Discouraged, I ended up not completing my degree. Instead, I decided to work as a flight attendant—a job I held for 11 years.       
 
Once I began flying, I experimented with cutting out singing from my routine. I found, however, that I felt idle during my time off (and there’s plenty of time off when you’re a flight attendant!). My entrée back into singing occurred when a college friend suggested I study with her voice teacher. I began lessons with my intensely dedicated and expert voice teacher in 1992 and have continued with her to this day. 
 
Soon after, I started singing with a professional pick-up chorus that performed sacred repertoire for church services. I also sang in a semi-professional chorus that met once a week for rehearsal and gave concerts two to three times a year. For awhile these singing opportunities satisfied my artistic craving, but by the late ’90s, I was hoping for more.  While I was still flying, I auditioned for the Chicago Symphony Chorus, and serendipitously, I got in as a professional on my first try. It seemed only natural, then, to continue auditioning for professional choruses, so audition I did, and was accepted into the Grant Park Symphony Chorus, Chicago’s summertime festival chorus.
 
Until 2001, I was still technically a full-time flight attendant, but the job began to create conflict with my busy singing schedule. I didn’t want to give up singing, so in October of 2001, shortly after the events of September 11, I very nervously made the decision to quit flying. The economy took a downturn, but by this time I had made enough inroads into the field of classical singing, so I was able to live solely off of singing-related work. In addition to my choral singing, I added occasional solo oratorio gigs and two church jobs. Putting my bilingualism to use, I also began singing in Spanish for Mass at Catholic funerals and weddings.
 
With slight variations (some years I sing with the Lyric Opera as a supplementary chorister), my typical year of singing includes at least four concerts with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, six concerts with the Grant Park Chorus in the summer, Saturday evening song-leading at St. Peter’s Church-in-the-Loop, and, on average, Mass at three weddings or funerals per month. 

When I was younger I dreamed of being on a big opera stage as a soloist of national, if not international, acclaim. Yet, at 42, I feel satisfied with the professional life I have made for myself. Throughout the years, I have learned that I crave more stability than the life of a more famous opera singer affords. I have also happily reconciled the limitations of what I offer in terms of my personality and vocal ability. This does not mean that I have given up challenging myself, but I acknowledge my particular skills, which, although they do not provide much notoriety, still feed my soul (and, to a certain extent, my stomach!)     
 
Some other lessons I’ve learned:
 
Listening to your heart can be a good thing.
Had I remained in a state of disillusionment after college, I might not have pursued singing at all, and perhaps I would be a sadder person. If you have a nagging desire to pursue something, then, by all means, pursue it! Of course, the result will never be exactly as you imagined, but rarely is it bad.   
 
Good sight-singing skills give singers an edge at any level of technical ability.  
Sight-singing has been a part of every choral audition in which I’ve participated. Because of my sight-singing skills, on a number of occasions, I have received calls to be a last-minute replacement. Also, honing my sight-singing skills has freed me up to spend more time on improving my singing technique.
 
Be as prepared as you can be.
Music directors do not enjoy wasting time because you haven’t quite learned a piece of music. Solid preparation (learning notes, conducting background research about the piece, exploring emotional interpretation) tends to calm the nerves when it really matters. 
 
Chicago is a viable place to make a living as a singer, especially if you don’t mind singing in choruses.
Even if you are not recognized as a solo singer at every performance, singing in choruses can be hugely rewarding. It is still an artistic venture, and you are still making money from it.  

Sometimes when I am less satisfied with a particular gig, I remind myself of what a less appealing alternative might be for me—working in an office or doing work mostly out of necessity and not enjoyment.  It is at those moments that I recognize how very lucky I am to be singing!

Eric Miranda is a frequent recitalist and soloist in the Chicago area. His career has included solo appearances with Chicago a Cappella, Bella Voce, and The Janus Ensemble. His opera roles have included Belcore in Elixir of Love, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, King Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief, and the title role in Traveling with Gulliver. He has made many oratorio solo appearances, including Ralph Vaughn Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols for First St. Paul Lutheran Church and numerous J.S. Bach cantatas. In addition to his opera and concert schedule, Mr. Miranda performs regularly as soloist at St. Peter’s Church-in-the-Loop and at other area churches.  He also performs with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Grant Park Symphony Chorus, and Lyric Opera Chorus.