As the countdown begins, I am rolling out "My Honored Teammates" format, where I will interview all of honored teammates, even the ones that I just met a few weeks ago.
I've known Kavita practically all of my life. But you know with childhood friends, you never really know them until later. Maybe it has to do wtih the fact that you take them for granted. Or maybe you think they still see you as the bratty eight year-old. Whatever it is, childhood friendships are different. They are more deep and real than I think one could possibly imagine. I never thought that a friendship like the one I have with Kavita would take me down this route, but what an amazing route it has been.
In an awkward fashion for me, but a normal fashion for you, I interviewed Kavita. I want you to get to know one of my childhood friends and one of my biggest inspirations.
Chai: Tell me what you are studying.
Kavita: I am getting my Masters in Music at The Boston Conservatory for VocalPerformance.
C: What is the coolest venue you have ever sung? What made it so cool?
K: The coolest venue I've sung in is probably the Boston Symphony Hall - The hall is considered to be one of three greatest concert halls in the world. (and is one of the oldest in the u.s.). I sang with a women's choir a commercial piece for an animator whose shorthad won an award and was going to be premiered at Disney (I don't recall the actual logistics, but it was something like that.) The hall made me feel that I was a part of something very grand and historical. It was beautiful.
C: Have you always wanted to be a singer?
K: I wouldn't say that I've always "dreamed" of singing, but I always knew that music would be a significant part of my life no matter what instrument, what genre or in what way.
C: What is on your radar after your done attending school?
K: I am prepared to go wherever life takes me. That was one of the morals of my cancer story - you can never plan too far ahead. After I graduate, I plan to audition for local choirs, chorus positions in operas, paint more, write more and hopefully sell a couple cds. Who knows what's going to happen?
C: How has cancer affected your ability to sing or has it?
K: The doctors found 2 lumps; one in my neck and one in my lungs. Therefore I had radiation directly to my lungs, throat, and larynx. They said they didn't know what the consequences were going to be. I was prepared for the worst. When I went back to finish my undergrad degree, my lung capacity was compromised, but I didn't care. I'mstill recuperating and my voice is definitely different than it was, but I don't think it's worse..it's just...different.
BUT, on to my next hurdle. When I recently went to my checkup, they said because I got radiation to my thyroid, it's starting to fail. So they put me on meds. I didn't worry too much, but when I went to see the endocrinologist, he told me to go get an ultrasound of my thyroid "just in case." Turns out, I have nodes on my thyroid - a bunch of little ones on the left and a big one on the right. The big one could be cancerous. If I have nodes on my thyroid, it's highly possible that I have nodes on my vocal chords.
So the next step is to go get a biopsy. Here we go again...
If I do have nodes on my vocal chords, that means I need to take months possibly years off of singing. Cross your fingers.
C: Our fingers are crossed! Did you ever fear that your illness would affect your singing?
K: Yes, during treatment I kept wondering what my musical future would hold because everything was so up in the air. Now however, I feel that even if I couldn't sing classical music professionally, I have many other options. Before being diagnosed, I could not write music. I just couldn't. I would try to sit down and write a song and nothing would come out. And now I can.
And I am painting so much more now. And I write a lot. I feel like I could be happy doing many things. Music just needs to be IN my life, I certainly don't need to make money off of it. In fact, it's probably better if Idon't.
C: Do you write your own lyrics?
K: Yes I write my own lyrics. Writing songs is so much fun.
C: As a youngster, what did you want to be when you were "grown up"?
K: It's interesting because I was never that type of person that always wanted to do something and only that something. My mom used to hop around from job to job and I always used to think that that was so fun. My goal has always been, to do Everything at least once. Haha.
C: When you were going through chemo, what motivated you to stay strong through it all? Or do you even think you stayed strong?
K: During chemo and radiation, there is no choice. You just kind of have to brace yourself and get through it. And I feel like I wasn't that strong. I would let my mind get the better of me (the goddamn steroids make you think and think and think like a coke addict on vicodin.) But in the end, it all came down to my family and my friends, and how much of my life I HADN'T lived yet. I wasn't ready to go. And I felt I had so much to offer.
That is something you realize - how much you have to give. The year after treatment was the most productive I've ever been. Maybe because on some level I genuinely felt like I might not have that much time left.
C: For a person who enjoys her share of music venues, where would you suggest I go the next time I come to Boston?
K: I've been to the Boston Lyrics Opera twice since i've been here and they are phenomenal. For like, rock/live music venues, I recommend a bar called T.T. The Bears. It's great fun. For Jazz, I recommend a place called Wallys in Southy. They were one of the first jazz bars ever.C: Some of my teammates are cancer survivors. Do you think I can convince you one day to train and run in a marathon with me? :)
K: Like I said earlier, my lung capacity sucks. So I would LOVE to train. But I don't know how successful I'd be. But hey, why not. Let's do it.
C: Free style.
K: I think you are an amazing person, and I can't wait to see where YOU'RE going to go, in your career and in your passions. All of us with the same motivations need to come together and do something great.
Links:
http://www.kavitart.com/
http://www.myspace.com/kavitamusic
http://www.myspace.com/kavitart
http://www.uplifted-aph.org/
I've known Kavita practically all of my life. But you know with childhood friends, you never really know them until later. Maybe it has to do wtih the fact that you take them for granted. Or maybe you think they still see you as the bratty eight year-old. Whatever it is, childhood friendships are different. They are more deep and real than I think one could possibly imagine. I never thought that a friendship like the one I have with Kavita would take me down this route, but what an amazing route it has been.
In an awkward fashion for me, but a normal fashion for you, I interviewed Kavita. I want you to get to know one of my childhood friends and one of my biggest inspirations.
Chai: Tell me what you are studying.
Kavita: I am getting my Masters in Music at The Boston Conservatory for VocalPerformance.
C: What is the coolest venue you have ever sung? What made it so cool?
K: The coolest venue I've sung in is probably the Boston Symphony Hall - The hall is considered to be one of three greatest concert halls in the world. (and is one of the oldest in the u.s.). I sang with a women's choir a commercial piece for an animator whose shorthad won an award and was going to be premiered at Disney (I don't recall the actual logistics, but it was something like that.) The hall made me feel that I was a part of something very grand and historical. It was beautiful.
C: Have you always wanted to be a singer?
K: I wouldn't say that I've always "dreamed" of singing, but I always knew that music would be a significant part of my life no matter what instrument, what genre or in what way.
C: What is on your radar after your done attending school?K: I am prepared to go wherever life takes me. That was one of the morals of my cancer story - you can never plan too far ahead. After I graduate, I plan to audition for local choirs, chorus positions in operas, paint more, write more and hopefully sell a couple cds. Who knows what's going to happen?
C: How has cancer affected your ability to sing or has it?
K: The doctors found 2 lumps; one in my neck and one in my lungs. Therefore I had radiation directly to my lungs, throat, and larynx. They said they didn't know what the consequences were going to be. I was prepared for the worst. When I went back to finish my undergrad degree, my lung capacity was compromised, but I didn't care. I'mstill recuperating and my voice is definitely different than it was, but I don't think it's worse..it's just...different.
BUT, on to my next hurdle. When I recently went to my checkup, they said because I got radiation to my thyroid, it's starting to fail. So they put me on meds. I didn't worry too much, but when I went to see the endocrinologist, he told me to go get an ultrasound of my thyroid "just in case." Turns out, I have nodes on my thyroid - a bunch of little ones on the left and a big one on the right. The big one could be cancerous. If I have nodes on my thyroid, it's highly possible that I have nodes on my vocal chords.
So the next step is to go get a biopsy. Here we go again...
If I do have nodes on my vocal chords, that means I need to take months possibly years off of singing. Cross your fingers.
C: Our fingers are crossed! Did you ever fear that your illness would affect your singing?
K: Yes, during treatment I kept wondering what my musical future would hold because everything was so up in the air. Now however, I feel that even if I couldn't sing classical music professionally, I have many other options. Before being diagnosed, I could not write music. I just couldn't. I would try to sit down and write a song and nothing would come out. And now I can.
And I am painting so much more now. And I write a lot. I feel like I could be happy doing many things. Music just needs to be IN my life, I certainly don't need to make money off of it. In fact, it's probably better if Idon't.
C: Do you write your own lyrics?
K: Yes I write my own lyrics. Writing songs is so much fun.
C: As a youngster, what did you want to be when you were "grown up"?
K: It's interesting because I was never that type of person that always wanted to do something and only that something. My mom used to hop around from job to job and I always used to think that that was so fun. My goal has always been, to do Everything at least once. Haha.
C: When you were going through chemo, what motivated you to stay strong through it all? Or do you even think you stayed strong?
K: During chemo and radiation, there is no choice. You just kind of have to brace yourself and get through it. And I feel like I wasn't that strong. I would let my mind get the better of me (the goddamn steroids make you think and think and think like a coke addict on vicodin.) But in the end, it all came down to my family and my friends, and how much of my life I HADN'T lived yet. I wasn't ready to go. And I felt I had so much to offer.
That is something you realize - how much you have to give. The year after treatment was the most productive I've ever been. Maybe because on some level I genuinely felt like I might not have that much time left.
C: For a person who enjoys her share of music venues, where would you suggest I go the next time I come to Boston?
K: I've been to the Boston Lyrics Opera twice since i've been here and they are phenomenal. For like, rock/live music venues, I recommend a bar called T.T. The Bears. It's great fun. For Jazz, I recommend a place called Wallys in Southy. They were one of the first jazz bars ever.C: Some of my teammates are cancer survivors. Do you think I can convince you one day to train and run in a marathon with me? :)
K: Like I said earlier, my lung capacity sucks. So I would LOVE to train. But I don't know how successful I'd be. But hey, why not. Let's do it.
C: Free style.
K: I think you are an amazing person, and I can't wait to see where YOU'RE going to go, in your career and in your passions. All of us with the same motivations need to come together and do something great.
Links:
http://www.kavitart.com/
http://www.myspace.com/kavitamusic
http://www.myspace.com/kavitart
http://www.uplifted-aph.org/
1 comment:
What a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing Kavi with all of us! What IS the countdown at?
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