Meet Clara Chung
CLARA CHUNG is a classically trained mezzo-soprano based in the Los Angeles area. She has trained as an operatic soloist and now focuses on ensemble work, including professional opera chorus and singing and conducting sacred music.
We asked Clara to share her experience as a professional musician living through the COVID-19 pandemic. From Clara:
When I was young, I resisted going into music, thinking that it was a self-serving aspiration. But I continued to feel my heart pulled in that direction, and decided to pursue this calling after the realization that participating in the creation of something beautiful was a subtle but powerful evangelization, inspiring in others a yearning for God, whether or not they could name that desire as such. I felt a particular pang in my heart upon reflection of the Parable of the Talents – God has given me certain gifts for the purpose of using them for his greater glory, and I needed to make a return on it. I hadn’t intended to go into sacred music specifically – my training as an opera singer formed me in a style that is generally counter to the type of singing that is typically used in early music, such as Gregorian chant or sacred polyphony – but my degree in theology and experience in scholas, plus the practical reality that it was a rare steady gig in an uncertain field, made it a natural move.
Pictured: Clara backstage in costume for Opera Santa Barbara, Eugene Onegin
I don’t believe that singing in church is the only way to make a return to God on the gifts he has given me, but that beauty and excellence in craftsmanship serves him wherever I apply it; however, as someone with my skill set familiar with the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the liturgy as well as the Ordinariate liturgy, I became a pretty rare asset in my area.
I have run into those who believe that working for pay as a church musician renders my sacrifice somehow less pure, which has been frustrating. I think it’s related to the idea that intent matters more than execution, but I disagree with this–you can’t hear my devotion in my singing, only my skill and artistry, and it’s those things which can make the music become an effective aid to prayer. (I’m sure everyone has heard the church choirs with off-key warbling–I would argue that the lack of skill is distracting, despite the earnest devotion of the singers!)
Certainly it’s better to have singers who do believe in what they’re singing, and when I’m hiring for my own groups, I tend to favor singers who are practicing Catholics, as long as they are at the same high level necessary to do the music justice. But in my experience, there are so many other things to pay attention to that it’s hard for me to pray while working anyway, so I tend to regard it more as an act of sacrifice–being Martha so that others can be Mary sitting at the feet of Christ, as it were–and at least on Sundays, I generally attend a Mass “for me” where I’m not working and can focus completely on my own prayer. I’ve found this to be really key for me in order to have a fighting chance of maintaining reverence for the Mass and keeping up my own prayer life.
Right now, the world of live performance has ground to a complete halt, because of the dangers of spreading the virus in large crowds, as well as the potential for greater viral spread because of the increased droplet range of singers. Performance artists of all kinds have lost all of their income, and especially those of us who depend on live and/or ensemble work have no idea when our work will return.
Pictured: Clara backstage in costume for Opera Santa Barbara with members of the cast and chorus of Madama Butterfly
I would urge those who are financially able and are so moved to find ways to continue to help support the arts and artists: donating to relief organizations (many of which were exhausted almost immediately once the shutdown hit), advocating for the inclusion of self-employed artists in government aid packages, donating their previously bought tickets to the arts organizations rather than seeking refunds, encouraging churches to continue to pay their musicians (very few are doing so) and donating with funds specifically earmarked for music, etc.
Many of us are seeking employment in other fields to support ourselves while the music industry is shut down, and I’m hopeful that the trend towards flexible schedules and working remotely will continue so that we can have more opportunities for work that would accommodate a performance schedule as things ramp back up, as well.
Our culture tends to have a utilitarian outlook which devalues the contributions of artists as superfluous, but I think the quarantine has proved that the arts are absolutely vital for our flourishing as humans by lifting us out of the mundane. I hope that people are able to carry that awareness into how they value and support the arts as we find a way forward.
