Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jenny Ribeiro. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jenny, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Confidence has taken a long time to come! In the opera business, we’re constantly told to stand out and be different, but then taught to sing like everybody else. My confidence has come from realizing that I have a voice and that I am my own artist. I sing how I sing. Listening to teachers and mentors is a wonderful thing, but what they are giving me are tools to create my own artistry. They can’t do it for me. Teaching others to use their voice has been a wonderful way to realize my own unique point of view and voice, and enjoy bringing it to others. I can’t make anyone like me. All I can do is be myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a mom and an opera singer and producer and educator who loves to bring music to all spaces and people. I particularly love creating concerts and recitals that highlight music from underrecognized composers and lyricists, as well as creating new music with living composers! Although I moved to New York City from a small town in Washington State with a dream of being on Broadway and singing in musicals, I fell in love with contemporary opera and the visceral feeling of singing with my full body as an opera singer. I met my husband through singing and have two wonderful kids. Although I stopped pursuing opera full time when they were babies, I continued singing professionally as a choral singer and training my voice. When my oldest was entering kindergarten, we moved to Michigan so I could get a Masters’ degree in Voice Performance at Michigan State University. One of the things I love about singing is that you’re never done! You’re always learning and growing and discovering new things. In Michigan, I started an educational opera program called Michigan Opera Outreach (www.michiganoperaoutreach.org
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. The most important thing is perseverance. Don’t give up. Even if it doesn’t look like how you planned, that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen.
2. The next thing is openness. Keep your eyes and ears open. Look at what’s going on around you. Listen to yourself. Your ideas matter, and being open to developing them is key.
3. The third most important thing is connection. Connect with everyone, all the time. The word ‘networking’ has always seemed so awful to me, so impersonal and mercenary. But connection, that is amazing. We are all connected to each other; loving the people around you, taking the time to get to know them and SEE them, not only does that grow your career, but it grows your community.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
As a parent myself, the first thing that I recognize is that parents are not perfect. We are trying the best that we can. And a lot of the time we don’t get it right. The best thing my parents ever did for me, though, was build in me a firm foundation. Both in faith and in music. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, and if it weren’t for my parents’ own passion and skill in music, I wouldn’t be where I am today. But they surrounded us with the music, and music instruction. My mom was my first piano teacher, and my first voice teacher. I learned to love a symphony by listening to one of the many records we had at home, or because the classical radio station was always on in the car.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jennyribeiro.com
- Instagram: @jennylynnribeiro
- Youtube: @jennyribeiro
Image Credits
Cavatina Creative
