TEXARKANA - For soprano Nancy Curtis, singing in her hometown came naturally while attending church and learning music under her mother's guidance, but a mid-December Texarkana Symphony Orchestra Christmas show gives her a chance to do so professionally.
Curtis, whose maiden name is Hinshaw, welcomes this first chance to sing at the Perot Theatre with the local orchestra, which wasn't here while she was growing up. She's one of two featured soloists for the TSO's Dec. 13 Christmas at the Perot show, and she enjoys this type of concert.
"On this concert, we're doing some classical things, but we're doing also some more lighthearted things, so it's nice to get to do that kind of variety," the soprano said, adding, "I am very excited and honored to be able to come back and be in my hometown. It's something that I've kind of longed for for a long time now, to be able to perform in my hometown, on my home turf, so to speak."
"She was a musician. She played the piano beautifully and was actually the accompanist for our church growing up, so I got my love for music from my mother," Curtis recalled.
She ventured out to Baylor University for her undergraduate schooling, studying music there before further education at the Verdi Conservatory in Milan, Italy. In Florence, she studied the Italian language - "because so much classical music is written in Italian, in French or German," she said. "And especially opera."
At the time, opera was her focus, which it isn't so much now. "And the time I did, so it was really important for me to immerse myself in the languages," Curtis recalled. She also studied at the Goethe Institute before living in New York City, where she had an agent.
"I had a lot of really amazing influences along the way, just different people that were important, different teachers and people that encouraged me," Curtis said. But her mother inspired that initial love for music.
Among her favorite roles during those two years there? "I would say my favorite opera to perform in - I've actually done three different roles in it - is 'The Magic Flute' by Mozart. I have many favorites but I enjoy that very much," Curtis recalled.
One career highlight is winning the Enrico Caruso International Vocal Competition, which took her across Italy to sing, including at La Scala, a famous opera house. Judges only heard the competitors' voices, making it unique.
"This was always behind a scrim where they were just listening to the voice, so it was really very much about the voice," Curtis said.
As well, she's performed with a number of opera companies, including the New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, American Festival for the Arts, Opera Rimini and Lyric Opera of San Antonio, among others.
She started a family with her husband, and opera is tough on that. Shortly after her first son was born, she decided to shift away from opera.
"I miss it a lot. It's an amazing art form, and I kind of feel like it's what my voice is best suited to, but you know to everything there's a season," Curtis said. "It was more important for me to be a mom at that point, and so I kind of switched my focus to doing more orchestral works, kind of like what I'm doing with the Texarkana Symphony."
Among the orchestras she's performed for are the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Austin Symphony, Virginia Symphony and Abilene Philharmonic, plus festivals like the Victoria Bach Festival and International Festival Institute at Round Top.
"I have when I would come home to see my parents. They would always have me sing in church. Every time I would come home, I would sing on Sundays in church, so in that capacity, yes, but in a professional capacity I have not," Curtis said about the TSO concert being her first professional singing experience in Texarkana.
And she loves Christmas music. "It probably is my favorite music to sing, definitely. Not only for the meaning, it's very much a part of my faith and so the meaning is very special. But I think just some of the most beautiful music comes out of the Christmas tradition," Curtis said. It also evokes feelings of family and love, and then goodwill, too, which is much-needed now.
"To be able to do a Christmas concert in Texarkana is doubly special, that's for sure," Curtis said.
She lives in The Woodlands, north of Houston. The Houston music scene offers many different performing groups to get involved with, so she performs there often. She's active at her church, too, with singing.
"I sing the national anthem for the Houston Texans every year, which is a lot of fun and scary," Curtis said. The echo in the stadium is what's scary.
Curtis recalls a few things that she both misses and cherishes about Texarkana. They include weekday lunches at the Cobbler Shoppe with her mom, both chicken and dumplings and chocolate pie at Bryce's Cafeteria and the four seasons here.
"But most of all, I miss the amazing people and how everyone shows up for each other and supports each other," Curtis said. "Texarkana is an amazing place, and I am honored to be a native."
(On the Net: NancyCurtis.com.