Life & Work with Marissa Simmons

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marissa Simmons.

Hi Marissa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Music and I were always meant to be. When I was 2 years old, my father noticed that I was singing in tune and in the proper key of various songs. At age 5 I started piano lessons. After that, I added violin, composition, flute, piccolo, harp, guitar, and ukulele.

At age 8, I heard a CD by the pop opera star, Andrea Boccelli, and decided that I wanted to be a professional opera singer. All the kids thought I was nuts, but I wasn’t joking! I always say that music is my first language because I learned to read music before I learned to read English. This feeling of music as my first language allowed me to truly express myself through composition from a young age. I wrote the beginnings of my first symphony on a restaurant napkin around age 12.

At the time, I was also singing in a choral group through Midwest Young Artists under the direction of Gary Fry. Mr. Fry has been an integral mentor in my musical development. I participated in band, orchestra, choir, and jazz band throughout middle school. When I entered high school, I decided to take summer school every summer to be able to take both orchestra and choir every school year.

In high school, I encountered another incredibly influential mentor, Clark Chaffee. Mr. Chaffee was the orchestra director and supported my compositional growth immensely. With his support, I went to All-State multiple times for composition and voice. I also had the amazing opportunity to conduct one of my original orchestral compositions at age 13 in Austria. After high school, I was determined to continue pursuing both opera and composition and I did just that.

I received my Bachelor of Music in Music Theory/Composition and Classical Voice Performance from the University of Miami Frost School of Music under the guidance of Dr. Lansing McLoskey, and Dr. Esther Jane Hardenbergh. Following college, I received my Master of Music in Opera from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and studied with Catherine Cook. Following graduate school, I moved back to Chicago and quickly became an active part of the local music scene. I now compose and sing professionally around Chicago and the country.

Later this month, I’ll be opening for Juan Diego Florez in the CSO pre-concert as an operatic Rossini soloist. I love singing the classics, but I also really love singing new music as it allows me to marry my composition and singing backgrounds. Oftentimes people are wary of new music, but it’s important to remember that Mozart was new once too! New music can bring modern-day issues to light in a way that encourages people to seriously consider differing viewpoints and perhaps re-evaluate their existing thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has not been perfectly smooth per se, and unfortunately, this is not a unique experience. The music industry, and in particular, the opera industry, is riddled with issues that would never be tolerated in other more standard industries. The opera industry is only beginning to address widespread issues of body shaming, sexual assault, unfair pay, appropriate representation of POC on stage, appropriate representation of Jews on stage, the expectation to pay your way to a career, and a total lack of power for artists.

The reality is that you could sing the most gorgeous audition, but could be passed by for any number of reasons–many of which have nothing to do with your actual artistry. It is rather standard to expect singers to pay to apply for jobs without the guarantee of ever being heard, pay to fly around the country for granted auditions, pay to house and feed themselves during all these auditions, and likely never receive any feedback or reply of any sort from many companies.

Naturally, this creates huge obstacles for many people in the industry as it almost requires you to be wealthy to have a chance. I’m sure everyone is familiar with the stereotype of the starving artist living in a cardboard box on the side of the road. Unfortunately, the industry is structured in a way that promotes this stereotype. Of course all these auditions we travel around for only last about 5-8 minutes each.

You have to wonder–How can a company accurately judge someone from hearing them sing one or two arias, one time? How can a company judge the work ethic and musicianship skills of an artist without saying more than “Thank you” to the artist? Art is so subjective. Every person has different preferences for vocal timbre, size, artistic interpretation, etc. I have a friend who always says “You can be the perfect peach, but if they wanted a nectarine, it doesn’t matter.”

When someone lands one of these coveted contracts, sometimes they are paid as little as $250/week while working 10-12 hours per day, 6-7 days per week with no health benefits. There is a reason that the starving artist stereotype exists, and unfortunately, the industry has not done much to change that. Of course, not all companies are like this. In my time working with the Lyric Opera of Chicago so far, I have felt valued, appropriately paid, and respected. I just wish this weren’t a rarity.

While I can’t speak directly to the appropriate representation of POC on stage, I can speak directly to the representation of Jews on stage and being a Jew in this industry. This is often an industry where artists have little to no power, so working on Jewish holidays is almost guaranteed. It is all too common to see companies put on productions of Jewish operas and musicals with zero Jews in the cast, crew, or production team.

As I see representation finally happening for my colleagues of color, I hope that Jewish representation will follow. As for some less emotionally taxing obstacles, I completed what amounts to a triple music major in college in 4 years. Crazy? Yep! I worked my butt off to have lots of AP credits, tested out of many courses, and I took 14 classes every semester. This meant that during my senior year of college, I took 14 classes, prepared and presented both a composition recital and a voice recital, applied and auditioned for graduate schools, and worked!

When I graduated, the music school made a rule that prohibited others from doing what I did because it was nearly impossible. As a composer, a major obstacle is a general fear or prejudice against new music in the classical realm. Many people (artists included) are very attached to the classics which can make it very difficult and sometimes impossible for living composers to make their mark.

There are a few living composers that have managed to surpass these obstacles, but it’s a rather small list: Jake Heggie, John Adams, Mark Adamo, Phillip Glass, etc. As our industry progresses, I hope that we will all take the initiative to feature both composers and artists that are women, POC, non-binary, Jewish, etc. There are many voices with stories that need to be heard and it’s up to us to listen.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I currently sing and compose professionally in Chicago and across the country. At the moment, I am considered an operatic contralto/mezzo. I sing roles such as Dalila (Samson et Dalila), Charlotte (Werther), Carmen (Carmen), Isabella (L’italiana in Algeri), Miss Todd (Old Maid and the Thief), The Mother (The Consul), and more. I have sung with companies such as The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Virginia Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, the Duffy Institute for New Music, Music Academy of the West, Evanston Chamber Opera, Thompson Street Opera Company, Opera Theater Unlimited, Paradox Opera, and more.

Vocally, I am known for my dark timbre, my low extension, and my chocolatey tone. I’m currently singing in a production of Old Maid and the Thief with Evanston Chamber Opera as Miss Todd. Following this production, I’ll be singing in Carmen with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and then I’ll be covering the role of Comare in Crispino e la Comare with Teatro Nuovo. As always, I will continue to sing and write new music as I truly believe that the future of the music industry relies on honoring the past while embracing the future.

Compositionally, I try to keep my portfolio very diverse. As a child, my mentor, Gary Fry, suggested that I always strive to keep a diverse composition portfolio and I’ve worked hard to do just that. I’ve composed for a variety of ensembles from symphonies, choirs, saxophone quartets, string quartets, operatic soloists, electronic music, and more. My compositions are known for their hard-hitting topics as well as their use of non-functional tonality.

Non-functional tonality is when a composer uses a pitch center but doesn’t necessarily follow a key signature or traditional harmonic movements. I’ve also written music with a lot of Jewish influence as that is my background. My most recent composition was a collaboration with librettist, Germaine Shames, called “An Open Letter to Samuel Alito: Lament of the Choiceless.” This piece was commissioned by Paradox Opera and will be premiered in North Carolina in March of 2023.

I feel that music gives us the ability to help others figuratively step into someone else’s shoes and experience things they may never have encountered. In the case of this particular piece, we focus on women’s healthcare and reproductive rights. For some people, this is a very black-and-white topic that doesn’t allow for discussion. I hope that our piece allows people to see this controversial topic from new viewpoints.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Fun facts about me: I throw axes in a league! I make custom dice with my husband, Ryan. I have synesthesia and perfect pitch, so pitches and tonalities have different colors for me. I love love love animals. I have two gay cats named Watson and Jarvis.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marissasimmons.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marissamezzocontralto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarissaSimmonsMezzoContralto/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarissaMezzo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarissaMezzoContralto
• Other: tiktok.com/@marissamezzocontralto

Image Credits
Valentina Sadiul, Virginia Arts Festival, and Anna Costa