Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1523410
90 maconmagazine.com | June/July 2024 "I love it because it feels like a treehouse," she said. "The rain is so melodic, and the views are everything. Also, I love the peace and quiet." LEFT The upper level of the home's stunning entry stairwell, including original 1970s chandelier and wallpaper. BELOW LEFT A Seventh Street Salvage find whose gown inspires the singer. If she is not performing, she is rehearsing. If not rehearsing, she is studying music. If not studying music, she is perfecting Italian pronunciation. If not perfecting Italian pronunciation, she is working with her vocal coach. Every day, her art makes a new demand. But Jasmine is clearly up for the challenge. Opera has taken her across the world. From Baltimore to Barcelona, Jasmine's singing career keeps her itinerant for nearly ten months of the year. Her intense traveling schedule makes her time in Macon all the more valuable. "I am grateful to have this career, and I'm excited for the future of it, but it is a constant roller-coaster. If I need to work with a vocal coach on the West Coast, we do what we need to do virtually. I already travel enough, so when I can, I want to be home. I love that technology allows me to do everything I need to from Macon." For Jasmine, our city played a formative role in her predilection for opera. While she was still in high school, internationally known bass baritone, Allan Evans, a Maconite who earned the title of "Kammersänger," the German government's highest honor bestowed upon performing artists, heard her singing during a masterclass at the Douglass Theater. He praised her voice and encouraged her to pursue singing. Jasmine also recalls the impact MidSummer Macon at Wesleyan College had on her, citing voice teacher Nadine Whitney as an early mentor. "There is such a rich history of music in Macon," she said. "And I grew up in a musical family, surrounded by gospel and jazz. I had a great network of people to help nurture me on my path. They guided me towards the programs I needed to pursue in order to foster a career in opera." Seeing performances at The Grand Opera House with her mother, who remains a volunteer usher there, was also formative. A highly specialized and competitive field, opera is not something a singer comes to by accident. Nor is it something most audiences come to by accident, either. Jasmine hopes that her participation can help bring the art form to new audiences. On an episode of The Local Woman podcast, Jasmine opened up to fellow opera-lover and host Sierra Martin