My First Gig - VMS Voice Instructor Barb Free

We asked all of our teachers here at VMS: What was your first gig? Here is voice instructor Barb Free's story of her first time performing in front of an audience!                                                                             <!--break-->

I was in fifth grade at J.C. Summer Elementary School. We had a music teacher that came to our classroom with cart. Her name was Mrs. Edberg, I think. She had white hair that she wore in a beehive. We mostly sang out of really old music books that had folk songs like "Roll On Columbia" by Woody Guthrie with all eight or ten verses. On rare occasions we passed out instruments to play. Every year we had a Christmas concert. The fifth graders got to audition for a special song set that we got called down for individually to audition on the stage in the Gymnacafetorium. I was petrified but I also knew that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to sing! There were four fifth grade classrooms and she called down the interested participants from each classroom. We took our turns singing on the big stage in the large room one at a time. After the audition process was over, all fifth grade auditionees met by the stage as Mrs. Edberg called out the eight or ten names of the students that were picked for the group. I listened nervously. I did NOT hear my name called. I was devastated and started to cry. When Mrs. Edberg came over to me and asked me why I was crying, I said that I didn't hear my name called. She said that she DID call my name and to this day I don't know if she added my name out of concern for me or if I really just didn't hear it called. That day and that concert changed my life and lead me to begin my career in music! I do not remember the songs that we sang as a fifth grade or in the small group probably because I was soooo emotionally charged and nervous! But that experience changed my life forever. I realized my love for music and because of that it became an even bigger part of my life. I went on to become an elementary music teacher like Mrs. Edberg, and although I also held auditions, I had enough concert performances so that every child who auditioned for a role would have a chance to perform. Thank you Mrs. Edberg!

-Barb Free

We want to know: What was your first gig?  Leave us a comment below and share your story!