PSU Magazine Fall 2003

Other up-and-coming PSU opera grads (left to right) Kelley Nassief '98, Angela Niederloh '99, and Jason Ogan '98 rehearse with Brainerd for a huge, June 2002 performance of Beethoven's Sym– phony No. 9 Choral in Portland. Brainerd sang the role of Hollander in a Knoxville Opera production of Richard Wagner's Der Fliegende. Lo rock music like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath," recalls Brainerd, "buL when I put the needle in Lhe groove for the Beethoven, it was like Lhe hand of God came down, and a voice said, 'You will do this.' I thoughL that l was experiencing an LSD flashback , because l was sLoned at the time , but l put out the joint and from that moment on l've never again touched drugs. l decided to become a singer of classical music, and l was like a horse with blinders on, because that was the only thing I have wanted Lo do." W hether Brainerd is perform– ing in San Francisco or Paris, he usually arrives at leasL six weeks before Lhe opera opens. Rehearsals stan right away, with four hours of work in the morning and four hours in Lhe afternoon. Often singers are given only one day off per week. "The rehearsals can be grueling," says Brainerd. "You can'L sing full blast every day Singers typically mark their voices. That is, Lhey hold back the vol– ume but noL Lhe intensity You have to watch your healLh, take your vitamins." Brainerd performed in Berliozs Damnation of Faust under the baton of Seiji Ozawa in Japan and in Paris. The firsl seL of rehearsals for the principal singers took place for three weeks in Carnegie Hall. Then they traveled to Japan for more rehearsals and, finally, performances for the Saito Kinen Festival. "lt was a fanLastic production that involved some complex scaffolding with five runways , each of which was eight feel wide," recalls Brainerd . The opera contains a great deal of ballet music, so members of Cirque du Solie] portrayed evil spirits by flying all over the place. They had worked for months on Lhe choreography in Montreal, where Lhe scaffolding had been assembled." When Brainerd performed in Lhe same production several months later in Paris, he needed only Lhree weeks to rehearse all of Lhe material again. Dur– ing this period he had more free time to take in The Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, and many of the other famous sigh Ls. Brainerd especially enjoys when his wife, Toni Lea, can take a break from her work as a graphic artist to accom– pany him, and he hopes Lhat in the future they will be able to travel together most of Lhe time. "Thank God she isn't a musician," says Brainerd wiLh a chuckle. "My ego is too fragile. " A s a young PSU student, Brain– erd promptly connected with music professors Ruth Dob– son and Bruce Browne, who quickly recognized his Lalenl. "When I first mel Clayton he was very much a black leather jacket guy," recalls Dobson. "BUL his voice has a IOL of personality, and he always had musical integrity-all of the nuls and bolts were there right away-the stuff of star quality." During his fifth year at PSU, Brainerd participated in an exchange program that sent him to StutLgart, Germany, where he matriculated to the SLuLtgart Conservatory of Music. PSU helped by granting enough exceptions for him to stay in Germany for four years. FALL 2002 PSU MAGAZI E 7