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This week's concert tour of Around the World in 80 Minutes features North Carolina native and vocalist, Rhiannon Giddens Laffan of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The group was awarded a Grammy late last year. Enjoy this Q&A with our soloist here:
How did you start singing and what made you decide to be a professional vocalist?
Family lore has me singing when I was standing in my crib as a baby; making up songs as a toddler, and driving my mother crazy with the constant vocalization as a pre-teen. I went to choral camp as a rising senior in high school and it cemented my desire to become a full-time musician.
Where in North Carolina are you from?
I'm born and raised in Greensboro, and I live there still!
As a North Carolina native, what do you think about performing with the North Carolina Symphony? Did you hear the Symphony as a child?
I'm so excited to be performing with the NC Symphony! I'm so proud of what they have done, keeping up with the times while still maintaining the integrity of a fabulous symphony. I did see the symphony on a school trip to Raleigh, and it was an amazing experience I still remember!
You are performing several pieces on the Around the World in 80 Minutes program. Do any of them have any special significance to you?
I just love the sound of Edith Piaf, so I'm quite thrilled to be doing two that she made famous, and Mein Herr Marquis is an aria I always wanted to do but never quite got to in school!
What are you most looking forward to about performing with the North Carolina Symphony?
Being able to experience the incredibly deep and complicated sound of a symphony up close and personal; also, there's just nothing like singing with that wonderful sound! It's not something I get to do every day...
How has winning a Grammy altered your professional life? Did it change the dynamic of the Carolina Chocolate Drops?
Winning a Grammy has mostly resulted in being asked this question in interviews. It's a wonderful accomplishment, and we're incredibly proud to be so honored, but we are carrying on as usual - gigging all over the country and bringing the string band music to as many people as possible. It has brought us a little to the notice of Big People who would otherwise never have heard of us, so maybe someday down the line you'll see us in the pictures. Who knows!
What avenues do you want explore in your professional career?
Just what I'm doing--continuing to be with the Chocolate Drops and being able to still access my training and perform on concerts like this one. Maybe some crossover classical/Chocolate Drop project is in my future...that would be fun!
Is there anything else that you would like to share?
I am deeply happy to be able to dust off my high notes and share them with people in public again!
Catch this concert program across the state in:
Town Common, Tarboro on Tuesday, May 31 (FREE CONCERT)
Tryon Palace, New Bern on Thursday, June 2 (FREE CONCERT)
Market Square at Southern Village, Chapel Hill on Friday, June 3 (FREE CONCERT)
Koka Booth Amphitheatre, Regency Park, Cary on Saturday, June 4
Riverwalk Crossing Park, Jacksonville on Sunday, June 5 (FREE CONCERT)
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