Sarah Ponder is a voice teacher at Loyola University Chicago. However, she is also a freelance vocalist! I have had the privilege to take voice from her for the past three semesters, and she has helped me grow as not only a vocalist but as a person. Singing can be scary— talk about really putting yourself out there! The best thing she has taught me is to never apologize for your talent, and to be comfortable with your current level of progress. She has so much more advice to offer, and I am so excited to share her profile!
Meet Sarah Ponder.
You have made a successful career for yourself as a singer. Can you talk about your drive and passion for music? What made you want to sing as a full-time job?
I want to point out that defining “successful” can and most likely will change and evolve throughout your life. Sometimes the dreams you had shift as you learn things about yourself or the business, what brings joy, what causes stress. I didn’t realized that when I was younger! I have always loved music – especially singing. For me there is something magical about feeling a voice move through the air and reach you in a the room or concert hall (opera doesn’t have microphones!) – I actually like the feel of it. My interest in the process of how to make those sounds only grows. It is a great deal of work but I enjoy it!
Do you want to continue singing and teaching voice, or do you have a “next step” in your career?
I love what I do, but it can be a challenge – freelance work has no guarantee of stability. My schedule pans out on a year to year basis. I would love one of the salaried chorus positions (there are 3 houses in the US – Chicago Lyric, San Francisco, and the Met in NYC) but those jobs are extremely hard to come by. It’s not just a matter of talent, but luck and timing as well. There is also the consideration that one can only sing for so long. Like any athlete, one has to prepare for the eventual changes that happen to the body and how that affects your instrument. I have fortunately already cultivated other skill sets but I am very acutely aware of the passing of time! So…shorter answer – I’m not sure what I want to do when I “grow up”!
I know that you work many different jobs, including the Lyric Opera, an a capella group, and of course teaching voice at Loyola. Can you give more details about the jobs you work?
Like any freelancer, my taxes are a nightmare! (I had at least 7 W-2’s and 8 1099 forms last year) I piece together a living through many jobs that shift throughout the season, year to year. Some years are great, others less so. Of course, none of the jobs (including Loyola) provide health insurance or any retirement benefits. This is increasingly common in the growing “gig economy” and truly needs to be addressed.
My work falls into 3 main categories. The first is ensemble work (Lyric Opera, Grant Park Music Festival, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago a cappella and many many others, “church jobs” as well demo and recording work) – I rehearse and perform in these ensembles (often very competitive to get and keep a spot!) and it represents a large portion of my income.
The second category is solo work. This entails more preparation on your own (your own rehearsal time and any coachings you need to prepare for these are built into your higher fees). There is often travel and more of your “mental game” is definitely needed – you have to have your confidence at hand!
The final category is teaching and outreach. I love working with my students at Loyola in addition to various outreach projects I do! I’ve seen how music can transform lives – when participants work on projects (or students taking lessons), struggle through it and ultimately succeed it can give them a positive sense of power and accomplishment that they might not have experienced before. I’m still in contact with many former students as well as some of the young women I’ve worked with in juvenile detention. Even now, they carry a sense of pride from their achievements during our work together! (you can check out Storycatchers Theatre for more info). One of my other favorite outreach projects is starting up again this month – Lullaby Project! The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (one of my employers) has partnered with Carnegie Hall in NYC to help young parents write original lullabies. For the last 5 years, I’ve been a part of that – helping in the creation of these works, recording many of them myself and also coaching any parents that want to perform themselves. It’s one of my favorite projects!
Basically….every week is different and I ALWAYS have to check my calendar. Other than one (HORRIBLE) summer when I was still in graduate school at Northwestern, I’ve never had a typical 9-5 job. What you trade in stability, you get lots of variety and excitement.
You have entered a new chapter of your life, and you spoke to me a bit about the classes you are taking and the new things you are learning. Can you speak about this a bit?
Being single again is not something I ever expected! Although my ex and I are friends, (being another singer, we work together almost every day) it’s still hard to move forward sometimes. With any challenge in life, I think it’s important to balance being thoughtful and reflective with action. I’m often in my head anyway so I decided add a little action to things by taking classes (in Alexander Technique – a method of learning to move mindfully through life – I’m taking classes geared toward singers and focusing on anatomy as it applies to singing). I love that we never stop learning! Focusing on that and other positive aspects of my life has been very helpful.
You go beyond just teaching voice— you empower your students to be confident individuals (I would know since I am one of them)! In what ways do you feel confident and empowered, and how do you cope when you face adversity?
That’s very kind of you to say. I think many of us struggle with being vulnerable. Singing is real trigger for many people. I was in a masterclass, singing for the famous Regina Resnick and she was prompting me to try and open up and I protested saying “It’s so hard though!”. She responded by saying that that – taking your chest, opening it up and really showing the world your heart and soul is what people pay for”. Helping my students to work on their technical abilities often helps them find the inner strength to be vulnerable and share their art (and themselves!) with other people. I love that. The older I get, the more comfortable I am in my abilities and with myself and by not basing my feelings of self worth on what others think of me, I find I’m able to be vulnerable and more genuine. I loved being in college and in my 20’s but…that feeling of authenticity wasn’t a possibility for me then!
What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment thus far?
Uh…I’m still here?! Just kidding – I’ve done many things that read as very prestigious in my bio. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and it defines me in many ways but…at the end of the day, I think it’s more important to be a good friend/spouse/partner/member of society/whatever – a good person. I cherish that. I’m also a great cook…
It is also important and brave to address our failures. What have you learned from obstacles you have faced?
Singing is often a constant exercise in tenacity – both mental and physical. Even if you’re amazingly talented, you might not get hired for something or find the success you want. You might get sick and have to cancel gigs or blow a big audition. It’s okay to be sad and mourn our failures but then I’ve found that taking stock and simply asking in a non-judgemental way “Okay, what happened? What went well that I should repeat? What didn’t work for me?” is really helpful. By taking out the judgement you can free yourself of pity, guilt, blame. You can be logical and make adjustments, try again or set out on a new path entirely. Life’s too short for all of the other crap.
What advice can you give a Loyola student like me?
There’s a quote “Comparison is the thief of joy”. I believe that on so many levels. Even thinking about how tired you are and wishing you were well rested – that comparison…what’s the point? Thinking abou ideals can be really useful. Knowing what you need to do your best (sleep, what?) or recognizing what someone else is doing really well can be a tool. It can motivate us to try harder or give us a model but – comparison beyond that can get really dark.
Be yourself – the best version of yourself – and go from there. We each can only sing with our own voice!