An interview with Claire Dickson ‘19.
Claire Dickson ‘19 is a sophomore at Harvard College, and she’s also an amazing vocalist! She’s received many jazz awards and continues to perform in Cambridge and Boston. She will perform at the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub at 9pm on Thursday, Sept 22, 2016. We got a chance to speak with her about music, school, and life.
Audrey Effenberger (AE): Let’s start with a basic question. How did you get started musically?
Claire Dickson (CD): My dad is a musician, and music was always around the house. I’ve been singing ever since I can remember in family choruses and musical theater. When I was around 12, I discovered Ella Fitzgerald and got really into jazz. When you love something like that, you kinda just keep doing it no matter what!
AE: What do you love most about singing and performing?
CD: I enjoy putting music in my body. The act of singing, of physically projecting your voice, is physically stimulating. Singing and performing also requires a heightened sense of awareness internally and externally, this is especially true in creative music. I strive to maintain focus on my vocal delivery, be mindful of the other musicians’ musical choices, and have a sense of the lyrical content and meaning of the song in whatever performance context I’m in. To sum up, I love the spontaneity and focus of singing and performing.
AE: Defaulting back to the standard Harvard introduction: what’s your concentration?
CD: Psychology, but I plan on doing a secondary in Music. I’m hoping to study abroad at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam next semester.
AE: What’s your favorite color?
CD: Maroon or burnt orange.
Are you a cat or dog person?
CD: I’m a cat person who likes dogs.
AE: Do you have any music recs for me?
CD: Always! A few artists I listened to today who might not be on your radar: Laura Mvula, Jeff Parker, Becca Stevens, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Ástor Piazzola.
AE: What is one question you wish I’d asked you?
CD: I just wanted to add that [my performance] this Thursday is going to be mostly original music by me and Camila Ortiz, which is something I haven’t done at the Queen’s Head Pub before!
Audrey Effenberger ’19 (effenberger@college.harvard.edu) looks forward to taking a break from psets and listening to Claire perform!