Gli Unici is San Antonio tenors Donald Braswell, William Chapman, and Tim Birt.
June 24, 2009–I first heard acclaimed tenor Donald Braswell singing in a vineyard near Fredericksburg on November 7, 2007. I–along with many of you–next heard Donald Braswell in the summer of 2008 on the national television program America’s Got Talent.
That November evening at Torre di Pietra, Braswell joined San Antonio tenors William Chapman and Tim Birt to electrify a local audience with a tribute to Luciano Pavarotti, famed Italian tenor who died that year.
But during that evening on television, Braswell did not electrify anyone at first. During the beginning of “You Raise Me Up,” the studio audience hooted to run the Boerne native off the stage. It was like the Gong Show. But by the time he hit that second refrain, the audience turned, and actually ended up giving him a standing ovation.
If that is all you know, the story is heartwarming. The earnest young man, after a touring career as an opera singer, wins over a tough audience.
But Braswell’s story becomes miraculous when you learn that in 1995 he was involved in a car accident that damaged his throat. Doctors told him not only would he never sing, he might not be able to speak normally. Braswell set out to rehabilitate his instrument, and returned to singing, culminating in his emotional turn on the popular TV show (he finished in 4th place, by the way). He now has resumed his touring and singing. Braswell will perform this Saturday with Symphony of the Hills in Kerrville.
That scene on television reflects something deeper in Braswell’s life.
“As a professional opera singer, I had an amazing amount of attention poured on me – people telling me I was the greatest thing since sliced bread,” he said. “When you are young and receive all that attention, you start to believe it. After the accident, I had a divine experience. I realized this isn’t about me; it is about things so much more important. There is so much all of us can do with our gifts if used right.”
During his second shot at fame, Braswell is using his gift to “try to transform people’s lives.” One transformation is to bring the general audience to the beauty and power of the classical arts.
It may surprise fans to hear Braswell say that he does not consider what he does now as opera.
“The reality of what I do now is contemporary commercial, an art form that appeals to a larger audience than opera would,” he explained. “Our goal as artists is to introduce classical arts to an audience in a way not to push them away from it.”
Braswell notes that artists such as Andrea Boccelli and Josh Grobin are taking genres of music that were traditionally pop culture – Broadway, early rock, even R&B – adding orchestration, and taking them into the classical field. That is making people look at music differently.
“They can take that and go on to more traditional forms of classical music,” he said, adding, “But we will never be in a place where classical music is a pure art form, not in this country, not with a mass audience.”
But Braswell’s destiny goes beyond saving the classical music industry.
“As an artist, my goal is to inspire people to reach deep in themselves, to cure ills for themselves,” he said. “I have had tremendous response to what I have done as an artist. The TV show did expose obstacles I had to overcome in my life. But we all have terrible obstacles in life – relationships, lawsuits, death, illness. It’s OK if you have fallen, and fallen 100 times. The goal is you don’t give up and you get back on. Your dream may not come out the way you thought, but you will have results.”
“Getting back on is the most important thing.”