When Robyn Driedger-Klassen trained to become a professional soprano, she spent many hours practising pieces ranging from the Baroque period to the contemporary.
Two years ago, she gave birth to her first child. Now, she's glad she built up her repertoire "because I just don't have the time anymore," Driedger-Klassen said. "The funny thing is my career is so much busier than it ever was before I had kids.
"I guess it's God's way of saying 'Told ya. You can do it all. You just have to make your choices,'" she said.
It hasn't been her only life change of late. After the birth of her son, Driedger-Klassen also gained a deeper voice - "a very common thing to happen to female singers," she said.
Still, it's all been for the good, she said. And next week Driedger-Klassen will grace the Evergreen Cultural Centre stage to showcase her altered vocal chords as well as enchant the audience with an array of songs from around the world.
Driedger-Klassen will perform with pianist Sarah Hagen on Wednesday for the next instalment of Hagen's Musical Mornings series at the Coquitlam venue. (The pair will also be in Nanaimo on Feb. 11, Surrey on Feb. 13 and Maple Ridge on March 5).
Driedger-Klassen will sing in French for Maurice Ravel's Five Popular Greek Melodies, in Spanish for sounds by Joaquin Rodrigo, in Italian for "some old pieces" and in English for a few spirituals and "silly songs." Among the latter will be a composition by Thomas Lehrer - "a songwriting physicist," she describes the American pianist and mathematician - and William Bolcom's Lime Jell-O Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise.
A Mozart will also be thrown in for good luck.
"It's a little out of the ordinary for me to do music like this because I tend to focus so much on [classical] contemporary music so, to be able to go back and do some of the things I know well, is actually quite a nice treat for me," Driedger-Klassen said.
She added, "Contemporary music is wonderful. I love it but it's a lot of work and most of those things only get performed once."
Musical Mornings start with coffee and baked goods before the 75-minute recital at the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam). The Feb. 12 show is suitable for students in Grade 5 and up. Tickets are $20 or $15 for three or more concerts; the student rate is $10 (there is no cost for a chaperone of 10 students). Next up in the Musical Mornings series are Oto Carrillo, a horn player with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, on March 12, and pianist Isabelle O'Connell, on April 9. Call the Evergreen box office at 604-927-6555 or visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca.
