Your mother was a singer. Did she inspire you to sing?

My mother didn’t just inspire me to sing, she forced me onto the stage! My first solo performance was at church, aged nine, and I twisted my skirt so hard while singing that it looked like a crinkle design by the end of it. After that, I always had a role in her Christmas musicals and such, and that was when I came alive. I love storytelling more than singing; I think I always have. I can’t make music if it’s not a story in my mind. I don’t like to sing just for the sake of the sounds.

 

Raehann Bryce-Davis

Raehann Bryce-Davis. Photo supplied

When did you begin your classical training?

I had my first solo lesson at age 19 in college. I was a Business major and went in to “just learn to sing better, since I liked singing”, according to my mom. So, I landed with her former teacher, Soo Hong Kim, who peered at me over her glasses at our first lesson and said, “You’re studying WHAT?!” After about four months, she convinced me to consider being a professional opera singer,...