Before getting into the profile, I’d like to discuss the way this profile came about and the assumptions that I had going into the interview. I don’t remember how, but somehow, I ended up finding an Instagram page for Lemba Studio, a studio who’s owner is a Black Calgarian singer. As a singer/songwriter who has done many Google searches, as early as in my late teens, to find vocal coaches and overall support in music, I was surprised to have never come across a black vocal coach.
Another thing that drove my curiosity is that I wanted to know the differences in our backgrounds that led to different journeys. I have jumped ‘in and out of the ring’ since my late teens, or as a friend would call it: it’s been a slow burn. In other words, my journey as an artist, has been a long process of self-esteem building (among other irrelevant things). You could almost say that in a way I gave up before even trying. This has a lot to do with a lack of family support as well as media representation and not being able to see opportunity when it was right in front of me. As Misha mentioned during our conversation, there is a narrative within immigrant communities, specifically African ones, of parents not supporting their children’s artistic endeavours. I guess then, I was super curious about the fact that not only does Misha run a teaching business, she is also a classically trained pianist, opera singer and has pursued music internationally. So now, on to the profile:
Q1: When did you discover your passion for music?
Misha was born in Swaziland and raised in South Africa, Australia and Canada. She credits the African continent’s rich culture of music and singing as well as the church, for her early appreciation of music. Some early memories include making plays with friends and forcing their moms to sit down and watch. She was fascinated by the stage. Music was an essential part of her early home life.
She began taking piano and singing lessons at 8 years old. In Australia, she studied classical piano from 8 to 16 years old. She admits that she didn’t like practicing, describing herself as a creator at heart. Music is her breath. There isn’t one moment "she fell in love."
Q2: Has music always been something you knew you were going to pursue?
Misha says she had a “delusional amount of confidence”. She credits her mother for being an incredible example of a renaissance woman, being supportive and instilling confidence. While she suspects that they may still secretly hope for her to attend law school, she has “very, very supportive parents”. For this she’s grateful, especially considering the narrative of parents of color not being supportive of the arts. However, she does see the trend changing as millennials and gen-z’s stand firm in their career choices and prove to their parents that art careers are viable.
The classical program at the university where Misha studied was very white space. While she loved opera, she reflected on a question that most, if not, all Black people are forced to ask ourselves at some point in our lives: “Am I willing… do I have the capacity to want to be 10 times as good for half of the recognition, half of the respect.”
Doubt kicked in during the later stages of university and while pursuing a career post-graduation. However, Misha was a fearless child. She’s now on a journey toward reconnecting to that mindset, wondering what fearlessness looks like and how that is expressed.
Q3: Have you had any struggles with embracing or rejecting opera based on its eurocentrism?
Misha’s journey toward her current feelings about opera has been “hard and heartbreaking”. She shouts out Khadija Mbowe as a source of support and someone she has been able to connect with over this struggle. Mbowe is a Black Canadian opera singer who uploaded a video on breaking up with opera to her YouTube Channel. Misha goes on to explain how rigidly traditionalist the artform is. So much so that even being a young white opera singer can be frustrating because “If you move a stone, they will come for you with the energy of the beyhive”. So, of course, being a black person in this predominantly and traditionally white space can be very discouraging.
To Misha, studying classical music and opera was the safest artform to pursue in terms of parental support because it's a high brow art, and she suspects, because of its proximity to whiteness. She wonders how her parents would have felt if she decided that she wanted to be a rapper.
However, as a child performer, she just wanted to sing and does not regret any of the training that she’s had. In fact, she appreciates that it introduced her to her “full voice”. She doesn’t discredit the artform itself explaining that the technique is “incredible and sustainable” which is why the opera singer’s voice has a long lifespan. So while not being disgruntled by the technique or artform itself she is disgruntled by the systemic racism. There was a severe lack of diversity and representation of Black composers in her repertoire as an opera singer.
She says: “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life convincing old white men why they should pick me… that’s terrible, that’s terrifying, that’s soul crushing... I will go where I am celebrated, I will celebrate myself”.
The decision to walk away, she came to subconsciously, at the end of her degree. The final nail in the coffin, as she puts it, was an experience where she performed a professional show in Europe. While it was a great and beautiful experience, she decided that it wasn’t for her and that it rubbed her the wrong way.
“I’m a creator more than I am a performer or a singer. I want to be able to call my own shots and create the things that I want to create to represent the things that I want to represent and opera’s not giving me the space to do that… I still love opera… I think it’s an amazing beautiful art, but the gatekeepers, we gotta get rid of the gatekeepers with all these art forms because they're annoying.”
Q4: How did Lemba Studio come about?
The process was organic. Misha worked at an after school youth conservatory as a student teacher teaching young girls how to sing. She realized that she didn’t want to be a teacher in a classroom but really loved one-on-one teaching and sharing her knowledge with the next generation of classical singers. She also explains being particular with background singers in a way that they find very helpful.
Misha also received a 1 year maternity leave contract position in Vancouver and taught at an “amazing” music school. It was a unique experience of older artists mentoring and nurturing younger artists. She credits this experience for stretching her as a coach and vocalist. When she returned to Alberta, she committed to branding herself by starting an Instagram page and posting 5 minute vocal technique videos. She did not have any issues finding students, after going private, she was approached by a number of parents to teach their kids. While having been at it for 7 years, 2019 is the year she decided to put more effort into her business and according to her “the response has been so great”. She loves hanging out with other vocalists and helping them hone their craft.
Q5: What do you have to say about finding self-esteem through music?
Misha explains that music school was a process of being stripped of everything she ever knew about music and being rebuilt into the perfect opera singer. She credits an “incredible” private professor who helped her find herself, rather than strictly focusing on the mechanics of singing. This, she strives to pay forward as a vocal instructor. She always wants to come from a place of encouragement. She reminds herself and her students that while art may be a frustrating journey, it is important not to forget to applaud yourself for going through it and finding yourself. Music teaches self-discipline, how to practice and confidence. Being involved in music and art teaches, and reveals to you, who you are.
Misha calls songwriting a miracle:
“How can you not be confident? How can you not have a strong self-esteem because you are creating this wonderful beautiful thing”.
Q6: Are there any particular challenging experiences you’ve had as a black woman in Calgary as a musician?
Misha explains how hard she tried to control the outcome of her career, and the amount of success that she would have by the age of 25.
“There was a moment at 25 where I sort of just let go [and decided] music is always going to be in my life, I am going to do this, I am going to pursue this the same way I pursued it when I was 8 years old.... I love to sing and create things with my friends, that is all it's gonna be.”
Misha has pondered the journey of letting go of the dream she has chased “so desperately” and reminds herself why she still is an artist. Interestingly enough, the day she let go, the day opportunities began to flood in.
In 2020, Misha noticed a lot of black people pushing to find her. A lot of her new younger students are black children. She is used to teaching white suburban kids, because the norm is for their parents to place them in extra-curricular activities. So she appreciates seeing our community being intentional about what it is we want to invest in our kids and who we want to invest in our kids.
Also, in hindsight, she realizes that she may have been a token hire in some situations, but she doesn’t put up with microaggressions.
“If I sniff any sort of microaggression… I will starve for two weeks being broke and looking for another job….I don't need this... I’m okay to be poor and at least clear and have a peace of mind rather than to be rich and be dragged through racism and microaggressions.”
Those experiences have been few and far in between but anytime they occur, she removes herself from the situation quickly. She considers the level of intimacy of her workplace relationships and will seize teachable moments when she feels safe and articulate enough to express herself. But, of course, arguing with a wall is pointless.
Q7: Has there been a need for a change in your business strategy because of COVID-19?
“Covid has been a really cruel gift in disguise for a lot of creatives because if anything it has given us time, which is really good, to do things.”
Misha had already been teaching online after a move from Vancouver. It was a seamless transition. The lockdown gave her more time to focus on business strategy, doing things like investing in a social media page, putting herself out there, and re-building her website. She believes that the pandemic has leveled the playing field in some ways
“Realizing that the systems that have been in place for so long have been an illusion because when a pandemic hits, now what? You have to fall back on innovation, you have to fall back on entrepreneurship and creativity and if you have lived one way, just being mediocre or having things handed to you or sort of just being covered by the system… good luck when miss rona is out here”
She does however, acknowledge the high anxiety and the pain in the world. But, also states that this is an opportunity for a rebirth and reincarnation for people who keep getting kicked down.
“We are in that renaissance… Through all of this turmoil, especially in the black community, especially in the African Diaspora, there’s unity… The self-esteem in the collective identity of black people is raising... there’s a bit of cohesion that happens when things are chaotic. We suffer all the time, but still we move.”
To contact Misha for vocal lessons, visit www.lembastudio.ca.
Or, follow her on Instagram @IAmLemba & @LembaStudio.