Noah Baetge
So, 11th grade… Mr Wilson, my AP Literature and Social Studies teacher, decided to go around the room and tell us what he thought each would be doing in life. Of course I thought he was prophetic, or knew something we didn’t (he was one of those teachers). In reality he just didn’t want to teach that day. Either way, I distinctly remember two predictions from that day. My best friend Jason would be a scientist (and he is), and I would be on or behind the stage.
I wanted nothing more than to be a doctor in high school. And being told that I would eventually end up “on, or behind the stage” was laughable. I hadn’t acted since elementary school, and being the last minute lighting director for my sister’s play doesn’t exactly make me a theater kid. (Years later it would occur to me that I was in every band, which could have contributed to Mr Wilson’s crazy notion.)
Fast forward 10 years and I’m professional opera singer preparing to move to the East Coast to be a part of Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artist Program. Music has always had an enormous influence in my life, from standing on the stage with my dad’s band (with a “guitar” and a muted mic) to singing on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. And now I can’t imagine a version of my world that didn’t include music.
Through a series of ill-timed and unfortunate life events my music career has stalled. And I’ve found myself working a 9-5’er to make ends meet. But it was during this time I met the motley band of misfits that welcomed me in. I honestly don’t know what my life would be like without them. Now I find myself living a semi-charmed life as a former opera singer, a concierge, a podcaster, a writer and composer. Everyday I wonder what other beautiful things or wonderful people I’ll bump into as I continue down this road.
Regardless if anything comes of this endeavor, it’s been a genuine pleasure to make art again. And if I’m lucky, I got one of you to laugh.
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