“Sometimes people look at an artist’s life and think, ‘I missed the boat because I didn’t do that,’” Laura Decher Wayte said@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Laura+D+Wayte@@. “But I think there’s a lot of people whose trajectories are nontraditional, and I believe that helps young people to know that.”
Decher Wayte, an adjunct instructor for the University’s School of Music and Dance, soprano vocalist and working mother of two, identifies herself as having one of those trajectories.
Before beginning work as a voice instructor and performer, Decher Wayte got her bachelor’s degree in philosophy, and after writing and editing for her college newspaper, she graduated and worked for years as a reporter for a daily newspaper.
But her love for music has been present for most of her life. As a child, she loved attending live performances of the symphony with her father. When she was around eight years old, she first learned to play the piano and from there began to practice the oboe and partake in choir and voice lessons.
Today, this passion for music has led Decher Wayte to apply her years of experience to teaching University students.
“I enjoy it so much, helping people to discover what they sound like and how they can express their feelings and have a lot of strength and power in their voice,” she said about her work, which she has been doing at the University since 2007.
On top of teaching, Decher Wayte also performs three to four times throughout the year. She cites both performing and teaching as inspiring her work.
“I keep learning from my students and then when I continue to grow with my own work as a performer, it informs my teaching and inspires my teaching. They feed each other,” she said.
Decher Wayte finds some overlap in her life between her work as an instructor and performer and her life as a mother, and Decher Wayte says she applies her different experiences to each aspect of her life. She finds balance through exercise and by channeling emotions from other parts of her life into her songs and her teaching.
In an attempt to step out of her usual singing style, Decher Wayte recently signed on to play Madame Mao in the Eugene Opera rendition of “Nixon in China,” which will premiere in March.@@nixoninchinaeugene.com/events.html@@
Sooner, Decher Wayte can be seen performing on stage this Thursday, when she will team up with fellow faculty member and pianist David Riley@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=David+Riley@@. The two will present songs by the likes of Richard Strauss, Franz Schubert and Gabriel Faure, among others.@@names checked@@
“I think the human voice, and music as well of course, can really grab people in a way that an instrument cannot, because its our own instrument. We can identify with that sound, each of us,” Decher Wayte said, explaining that she hopes singing the songs will help the audience connect to the music.
The two performers are looking forward to adding their own experience to these songs, which they usually teach to their students, Decher Wayte said, adding that she hopes the audience is able to feel an emotional connection not just to the music but to the poetry within the songs.
“I feel it’s a little bit indulgent, the program. It feels fun. Very, very fun to do, all these pieces. They don’t feel like work.”
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@@Vocalist Laura Decher Wayte and pianist David Riley@@
@@Where: Beall Concert Hall@@
@@When: Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m.@@
@@Tickets cost $8 for students and seniors, $10 for general admission and are available through the University ticket office.@@