Content.HamptonRoads.com – By Gillian Gaynair, The Virginian-Pilot
The night before a recital, Tona Brown stands facing her best friend and vocal coach.
“All right, perform for me,” Jennifer Randall says. “Lemme see what you’re giving tomorrow.”
With a pianist playing alongside her, Tona begins a piece from the American opera “Vanessa.” She leans stiffly to one side as her mezzo soprano voice permeates the room. Her brow furrows.
Tona’s friend guides her with whispers and gestures. She presses her hands against her cheeks, signaling Tona to shape her mouth vertically. When she rigidly clasps her hands at her middle, Tona gets the motion to drop them and relax.
This kind of singing is new territory. Tona’s expertise is the violin, which she first tucked under her chin at 10. She used to practice for hours in her bedroom at Diggs Park, a low-income housing community in Norfolk.
Even then, Tona had a vision for her life.