Julia Bonnett smiles into the camera.
Finding A New Voice
By Julia Bonnett
When I heard about the AMI Apprenticeship program, I really didn’t know what to expect. All I knew was that I wanted to do it! Due to my vision loss, I was at a point of transition in my work life, and the idea of working in broadcasting had awakened ambitions I had nurtured early on as a teenager – before I had pursued music as a career.
I applied and waited to hear back; the pandemic was making everything complicated for everybody! But eventually, I was lucky enough to interview with Andy Frank, Manager of AMI-audio, who sensed that I might have a story to tell. I was a bit surprised at the suggestion of a podcast about myself but keen to try. Having the support of Andy and sound engineer Matt Agnew made all the difference. I was encouraged to write it all out, no-holds-barred, and then we went from there. Slowly, we zeroed in on the story, while I learned how to write as I would speak: from the heart, not like an academic writing a paper on Beethoven or Mozart! Then we began to record, which was also educational – who knew I put so many pauses in my speech?
Next, we added in the sound component, which is obviously such an important part of any story about the world of opera. That was the fun part – bouncing ideas off each other. I always knew that I could rely on Matt’s ears to tell me if it was too much or not enough. I am so impressed by what people like Matt do, crafting the storytelling with sound effects and music.
The result is Finding a New Voice. I hope this is a story people will be able to relate to, whether or not they like opera. Thanks, AMI!
About Finding a New Voice
What happens when life pushes you out of the spotlight … and then right off stage? Julia Bonnett takes us on her journey through vision loss paralleling a career as an operatic soprano and music teacher. She finds out that, sometimes, the best-laid plans just don’t work out. Finding a new voice might just mean making it up as you go along!
Music attribution:
Backing tracks for “La Cloche a sonne” and “La Fleur que tu m’avais jetee” provided by Aberforth D. These works were modified from the original and licensed for use under Creative Commons. You can find more of his works at thesoundofopera.com and subscribe to The Sound of Opera on YouTube.