conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me a description for a book titled Stand Up Straight and Sing! about Opera, Raised, Augusta with the genre: Arts & Photography, Music.. Start with the sentence 'Raised in Augusta, Georgia, a child of the Jim Crow and civil rights era, Grammy-winning, international opera singer the author offers a broad and global perspective on life, the arts, and spirituality'.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Raised in Augusta, Georgia, a child of the Jim Crow and civil rights era, Grammy-winning, international opera singer the author offers a broad and global perspective on life, the arts, and spirituality. Encouraged at an early age, she recalls playing on her grandmothers pedal organ, listening to her mother and grandmother sing spirituals, and taking to heart her mothers admonition to stand up straight while reciting and singing. She recalls a long line of ancestors and the tight-knit community who encouraged her to go beyond the limitations of race and sex. Surrounded by music, from gospel to jazz to classical, and inspired by Marian Anderson, she started singing in church. Her talent was later nurtured at Howard University, and she went on to a career singing at the Berlin Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Looking back on her life, she marvels at her long journey from the segregated South to a dazzling career in the arts. the author recalls memorable performances and makes observations on the power of beautiful music to enter the spirit and simply live there. Her inspiring memoir includes lyrics of her favorite songs. --Vanessa Bush