I grew up in Bargecchia, near Lucca. My father played clarinet in the village band. My mother used to sing “Ave Maria” at weddings. When I was six years old, I remember crying when my mother sang to me, I was so moved by her voice.
I was also fascinated by the organ in our village church. I used to sneak over and try to play it, which made the priest very angry. I was thumping at the keys and he thought I would destroy the instrument. He would run after me and slap me. Eventually, he realized that I was doing it because I loved music so much. I was 10 when the priest asked me if I’d like to learn to play the organ properly. I said yes. That happened on a Tuesday. On Sunday, I was playing the organ in church. I couldn’t read music. I learned just by watching the priest. A year later, I started conducting the church chorus.
Do read the whole thing! There were so many quotes via this Chloe Veltman interview … but I can’t post ’em all. So just head on over and read the darn thing! 🙂
(By the time this is posted I’ll be in the Opera San José pit … and I’ll find out if my iPod Touch, which I forgot to pack up and bring home, is still there or if someone absconded with it. Sigh.)
