2016 Alumni Commencement Remarks: Luciana Souza

"I Have Helped Them Feel Their Strength, Their Sorrow, and Hopefully Their Heart"

Luciana Souza '94 M.M. was unable to attend Commencement in person due to illness. Jazz faculty member and alumna Dominique Eade '82, '89 A.D., one of her teachers at NEC, read Souza's prepared remarks in her place.

It is a real pleasure to return to NEC today to address you on behalf of the Alumni Association.

I missed my own graduation in 1994—I was teaching in Italy at the time—so I would really like to get a photo of me wearing this gown!

Today you have officially become an NEC alum—this means you have finished something. I am the mother of a seven year old—anytime we complete a job and finish something, we throw a party! And that’s what we are doing here today. This is your party! Congratulations!

You have worked hard. You have done hard, hard work. Your parents have worked hard. Your teachers have worked hard. But we all know why we do this hard work. We do this because we love music. We do this because we believe that music is deeply important. We all believe the arts do something to all of us that nothing else really can.

Just as I was graduating from NEC with a degree in Jazz Studies, I was asked to be the soloist on a piece by a classical composer named Osvaldo Golijov, to be premiered at the Oregon Bach Festival. I had no business being on stage with an orchestra—I needed a microphone to amplify my very small sound, and I was such an outsider—I had no idea how to follow a conductor, what the protocol was, who to shake hands with when you walk on stage, if I should straighten my hair (which I clearly never did) … I mean, I was a foreigner many times over: I was from Brazil, I came from Jazz, I was from the other side of the tracks. So, naturally, I declined.

Osvaldo had heard me on public radio, here at WGBH in Boston, and he felt I could contribute something to the piece with my musicianship, with my sound. After meeting him and understanding what he wanted from my “non-classical” voice, after understanding how I could contribute to his music, I said yes.
 
By getting out of my comfort zone, I went on to work with some of the greatest musicians, conductors and orchestras in the world. Osvaldo’s piece connected me to other composers of contemporary music. Learning his music changed my own music and my singing. I am so grateful for that.

There have been times, though, when I have questioned my decision to make music for a living. The world is moving fast, and we all, at times, can forget what the purpose is in what we do.

If you happen to go through those times, I am going to give you an amulet to hold on to. A smooth stone to rub:

"If I make even one person feel something with what I've contributed, I've made that person more human. At least for a period of time, I have helped them feel their strength, their sorrow, and hopefully their heart."

And if at times things don’t seem as direct and clear as you would like (or your parents would like … or the world would like), hang in there—not everything develops in a linear manner—there is some chaos in there, some randomness. But as long as there is purpose, there will be motion.

So when you walk out of this building today as an alum, you are carrying more than your worries and questions—you are carrying a family of alums, teachers, and parents who have come before you, and who have felt like you feel now—a mixture of joy, excitement, pride and utter fear. Carry us with you and start figuring out your own way to give of yourself to contribute to music and the arts.

Thank you for listening and welcome to the NEC alumni family!