Hi everyone,
^pictured above: my 2-year-old cat Callie and I during winter break.
(total ~cat person~ over here)
My name is Erik Rasmussen, and I am a senior voice performance major - I am studying to become an opera singer. The first time I ever saw an opera live was my freshman year here at Fredonia - I was a music education major at the time and didn't think I was "good enough" to be a performance major. After a few years of lessons and noticing how much I improved, I realized I could actually do this, and it was what I truly wanted to do, so here I am now. (After quite a few changing-of-majors throughout a 2-year period) Since then, I've performed principal roles with the same opera program at Fredonia that inspired me to begin with, performed a (very) small role in a world premiere opera with Nickel City Opera in Buffalo, and will be graduating this semester with a few professional opera/concert credits on my resume already! I'm taking a year off from school before auditioning at conservatories for grad school, where I'll be living at home on Long Island and taking private lessons with a very well-known teacher in Manhattan with lots of (famous) connections/students....eep!
I'm really in this class just for the CCC, to be very honest. It was the only one that fit my schedule. But after our class discussion on Friday, I left thinking to myself, "Thank GOD this isn't a boring 'sit-there-and-waste-my-time' CCC!" because the universe knows I've had enough of those. I am very strongly opposed to the way our government will be run during these next four years, as I'm sure many of you are as well -- Having multiple people in this class who are of Native American descent is really inspiring for me, because I get to learn so much about their cultures right from them in class while thinking of ways to use MY white privilege to help defend fellow human beings who are victimized by ignorance and hate. Being the gay white boy coming from a very large suburban town on Long Island (quite literally "the hood", or one of about 3 big ones on the island) where the population is 71% spanish and 15% black (2013 demographics), I didn't think problems such as racism, homophobia, classism, etc. were actual problems until about middle school when I started going to places in other towns and interacting with other people. Example: "Oh, you're from Brentwood? Have you ever gotten shot?" - an actual question I was asked in my senior year all-state choir by another student from somewhere I've never heard of. I feel that using your white privilege to defend minorities is SO much more than a hashtag #noDAPL, we need to call our representatives, send them letters, tell THEM that WE don't want hate being the foundation of our society...and if they don't listen, we boot them and elect a new official. This class will only help me become more politically active and knowledgable about what I'm fighting for. So, yeah, I think this class will be exciting, so long as I can keep up with the readings! (Haha)
Other than classical music and opera, I've always had a lifelong interest in photography and graphic design - I finally have the room in my schedule to take a digital photography class, and I'm looking to spend the semester and years beyond taking headshots/portraits for fellow performers, as well as performance/recital photos, (maybe) fashion/menswear photography, developing my own artist (performer) website in the future years, and whatever else the universe brings to my future. (I'm very much a believer in "the universe" giving you exactly what you need, exactly when you need it. What happens next depends on how you react to it.) So, feel free to contact me for a quick photo shoot if you want, whether it be for professional reasons or just for a new insta post. ;-) I'll definitely be able to use the practice and I would only charge a small fee for my inexperience.
Looking forward to getting to know you all,
- Erik
P.S. Come to my senior recital, Sunday April 30th 8:00 pm in Rosch Recital Hall #fredfest
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