Cherokee Art Market - Native American Times

10 NATIVE OKLAHOMA • OCTOBER 2013NATIVE OKLAHOMA • OCTOBER 2013 11R RCherokee Opera Singer JoinsRanks of Oklahoma’s Music EliteKAREN SHADECherokee | DinéYou’ll never see her slouch. Even at ease,Barbara McAlister sits erect, correct andas if she aced posture in finishing school.A dramatic mezzo-soprano spends alifetime learning to master her craft,and that includes lessons on carriage tosupport the diaphragm muscle.“Learning to sing properly is not easy,and anyone who graduates from collegeand thinks they can sing, give them afew more years,” says McAlister. “… Youhave to build up the muscle power. Youhave to build up the vocal chords so thatthey’re able to sustain hours of singing.Operas are not short.”The Muskogee native should know.She’s performed in opera houses allover the world and packs a repertoireranging from the infamous vixen ofBizet’s “Carmen” to the Cherokee cornspirit Selu in “The Trail of Tears Drama”in Tahlequah.Plus, she’s met one the most powerfuland famous diaphragm muscles of all –the one belonging to super tenor PlacidoDomingo.“I ran right into him and bounced off,because these muscles are very strong,”she says, gesturing at her core. “… AndI looked up and said, ‘You’re PlacidoDomingo,’ and he said, ‘Oh, yes.’”Yes, operas are not short. After fourdecades on stage, McAlister has earnedthe right to sit at the edge of her seat,back perfectly straight, even if it makesthe people seated opposite aware of theirown vertebral shortcomings.Along with a handful of individuals,the Muskogee native will be inductedinto the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.The 2013 induction ceremony will be7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15 at the MabeeCenter, 7777 S. Lewis Ave., in Tulsa.Along with McAlister, the inductees areJimmy Webb, Mason Williams, SandiPatty, Norma Jean, the late Bob Dunn“One day this hugevoice came out,” shesays. “It never left mefrom that time.”and the Mabee Center. Neal Schon,founding member of the band Journey,is also a member of the 2013 class, but hewas formally inducted in August. RogerDavis will be honored with the OMHFGovernor’s Award, while Muskogee’sSwon Brothers (who will hold a concertafter the ceremony) will be recognizedwith the Rising Star Award.McAlister will sing at the ceremony,exhibiting those credentials that havetaken her to Carnegie Hall, LincolnCenter, the Kennedy Center and theNational Museum of the AmericanIndian. By the way she talks about herhometown, however, you’d believe thatMuskogee is her favorite place in theworld.Seated in the parlor of friend SueGaston’s historic 1905 home, McAlisterremembers the places of her childhood.She and Gaston have known each otherfor a long time. McAlister’s parents builtthe house next door to the Gastons, andthe families became fast friends.Her father, Lawrence S. McAlister,was a surgeon and doctor of severalspecialties born in Webbers Falls in 1905to Lawrence C. McAlister, a salesmanof Scottish lineage, and Susie Sevier,a young Cherokee and graduate ofTahlequah’s Cherokee Female Seminary.He studied medicine in Omaha, Neb.,where he met a pretty girl named ClaraEdwards on a blind date. They marriedand nine months later, McAlister’s eldestbrother was born.The couple moved to Muskogee, wherethey raised three children – Larry, Johnand Barbara – as the doctor establishedhis career. McAlister remembers theirfirst home in Muskogee, a two-storyhouse on Fond du Lac Street (nowMartin Luther King Jr. Street). As a child,she listened to her father sing GermanLieder (or art songs) such as “Death andthe Maiden.” He had vocal training fromhis student days and was a good singer.Her mother played piano and tried to getMcAlister to play, too, but the child wasmore interested in vocal music.Both fans of opera, her parents listenedto classical recordings on the RCAVictor. The McAlisters frequently invitedfriends and neighbors to their hometo listen, too, and to sing at the piano.These gatherings made an impressionon the little Barabar, who rarely spokeand never sang in front of anyone. At theage of three she had a breakthrough –beneath the piano.“I think I sat under the piano so asnot to be noticed, then I wouldn’t have toleave the room (at bedtime),” McAlistersays. “And then one time, I remember,I discovered my voice and startedscreaming. I was sent to my room.”Barbara McAlister will be inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame October 15, 2013 at the Mabee Center in Tulsa.COURTESY PHOTO