- ContributedWilliamson.
Denise Clarke, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
WHEN Paul Williamson first told his parents of his intention to quit business studies and take up music, they thought he was joking.
"Can you make a living from this thing? Can you even sing?" they asked him.
That was in 1992. Now, Paul Williamson has convinced not only his parents that he can sing, but countless people in Jamaica and around the world who have heard him.
Back then, however, not even he knew the extent of his talent. He had done some singing on the choir at school, but to pursue music as a career? No way! A graduate of Wolmer's Boys' School in Kingston, Mr. Williamson went on to study business at Houghton College in New York. It was while he was engaged in studies there that he discovered his hidden talent. "I was singing to myself one day thinking nobody was seeing me when one of the professors intruded and asked me if I'm a music student. I told him I was a business major," said Mr. Williamson.
He apologised to the professor profusely. After all he was trespassing on the property of the Houghton School of Music on the same campus. However, what he did not know was that the professor had been listening to his singing and liked what he heard.
"He kept insisting that I was a music major and I kept telling him I was not. Finally, he said, 'you and I need to talk'."
That talk came just at the right time for Mr. Williamson, who by then was failing business studies miserably. At the end of his second year as a business major, he decided he would make the switch to study music. He had already landed in the top 10 of the school choir and had access to opportunities usually reserved for music majors. Telling his parents was the hard part.
"First it was disbelief. It's not that they laughed but they just didn't think I meant it." He decided to show them he was serious, and arranged to sing at church the following Sunday, to show them just how talented he was.
I was scared out of my wits. I remember thinking to myself, what if they don't like it. Then I just closed my eyes and sang, I didn't open them until I was finished," Mr. Willamson said.
When he did open his eyes, he could see that his parents were thrilled with what they had heard. That same evening, his parents decided that his mother would accompany him back to school to talk to his professors. At the start of the new semester, Mrs. Williamson went with her son to the school. The music professor spoke with such awe about her son's singing that she left immediately, feeling more than convinced that he had made the right choice.
Paul Williamson completed his Bachelor of Music in 1995 and went on to Russia to complete his Masters in Voice at the prestigious Glinka Conservatory in Nizhny Novgorod.
He now spends his time between Jamaica and the United States performing as a tenor soloist. He has performed as a soloist with renowned choirs in the United States and Russia, and his talent is widely recognised.
However, he admits to spending most of his time doing what most opera singers do, looking for a sponsor to push him towards that big break onto the world stage. A sponsor is someone who invests in an unknown artiste who shows potential for a promising career. Sponsorship may include participation in courses and competitions, which will get the artiste noticed.
"Most opera singers get their start by getting a financial backer who invests money in their career. It is usually someone who sees the potential of the individual, has faith in the cause and is not looking for a quick turn around," Mr. Williamson explained.
Having just completed a voice recital in Rutland, Vermont, Mr. Williamson still craves for recognition of his talent in his own country, Jamaica. He feels that although there is a certain level of appreciation for opera music in Jamaica, many are more receptive to renowned foreign artistes, than of Jamaicans trying to burst on to the scene.
"If we could get recognition from our own people or to be treated with the same level of respect as the foreign artistes, we would be able to in turn put Jamaica on the map. We can show people that it is not just a place for sand and sea, but also flooding with talent in the fine arts."
His parents are now very supportive of his choice and show great appreciation for his talent. His father, businessman and Honorary Consul for Uruguay in Jamaica, Tony Williamson, was especially proud when Paul performed to a standing ovation at the International Federation of Consular Corps and Consular Associations Conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Montego Bay in June.
