Southeast professor Leslie Jones shares love for music

Working hard at something you love is a mantra that Dr. Leslie Jones, professor of music at Southeast Missouri State University, suggests that everyone should live by, not just performers.

"Sometimes we love labels and we want to have a rubber stamp that says you are this," Jones said. "Sometimes you just have to wait and be patient, but work at the same time."

Jones began playing the piano in her church choir as a young girl, but it wasn't until college when she discovered how deep her love for music truly was.

"When I decided to go to undergraduate school I thought, 'OK, well I'll be a music major,' because not a whole lot else interested me," Jones said. "As I started getting into and learning more about different types of music that's where I really fell in love."

As Jones became better acquainted with recordings of professional singers, she found that Leontyne Price, an African-American soprano most notably known for her work as an opera singer, was someone who she admired vocally.

"Oh my goodness, what a voice," Jones said. "It's velvet and steel all at the same time."

Opera, the genre in which Jones specializes, is what she describes as unique because of its infusion of instrumental music, vocals, drama and visuals to collectively play an equal part in performing.

"Everything plays into telling the same story," Jones said. "Sometimes the music will give you a mood… a different mood than the singer's portraying, that clash becomes a part of the story."

Having the ability to sing in the lowest range of female voices has provided Jones with a wide spectrum of vocal experience because she is able to sing both high and low notes, while still maintaining control of her assigned octave.

"Part of it, and a couple of my teachers were very good at saying, 'Let's see what the voice tells us and listen to that,' because each voice has its own sort of sweet spot that feels like home," Jones said.

At the age of 32 and while studying for her doctorate degree, Jones realized that she was in fact a contralto.

"When I was working on my doctorate my teacher there was the first one ever who said, 'I think you're the one thing no one's ever tried to call you before,'" Jones said. "'I think you're a genuine contralto and that's fairly rare.'"

The Berkshire Music Festival is part of the list of accomplishments that adds to Jones's experience as a performer. As Jones describes it, the festival is something like an adult choir camp for more than 200 singers ranging in age and musical experience to perform major pieces of work like Handel's "Messiah" or Beethoven's "Night" alongside an orchestra and a chorus.

"So with that I was one of the faculty members, which meant we were section leaders," Jones said. "So for the alto section I was one of two section leaders, we would help those singers with their notes and words and what have you as needed."

Jones said her experiences performing in the professional opera chorus in New Orleans have assisted her in duties in the opera workshops at Southeast.

"I was never in the foreground for those, but oh, some of the wonderful singers I got to see," she said.

To read more, visit SoutheastArrow.com.