Kathleen Watt: REARRANGED (With Sarah Hoover)
Fans of opera, the history of medicine, or memoir will enjoy this evening with in celebration of Kathleen Watt’s new memoir, REARRANGED: AN OPERA SINGER’S FACIAL CANCER AND LIFE TRANSPOSED. Join The Ivy Bookshop at Bird in Hand (11E 33rd St) for a conversation between the author and Sarah Hoover, Associate Dean for Innovation in the Arts and Health at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.
REARRANGED tells the story of a New York opera singer at mid-career, with a steady, lucrative chorus job at the Metropolitan Opera and solo gigs elsewhere, anticipating her best year ever. Instead, a vicious bone cancer changed her plans. Unflinching, masterful, and infused with a wry humor, Kathleen Watt probes the depths of the physical and emotional transformations wrought by facial cancer. This is a comedic exploration of Watt’s medical experiences and a joyous ode to a life remade.
Books will be available for sale at the event. It will take place on 10/25 at 6 PM. It is free and open to the public.
Kathleen Watt sang principal roles with Boston Lyric Opera, Springfield Regional Opera, Utah Opera Company, Opera Works New York, and as a member of the Extra Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera, before her singing career was derailed by a diagnosis of osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) in the face. Since retiring from performing, she has written frequently on performing arts and LGBTQ issues, featuring profiles and essays, for The Arts Council, Deutsche Gramophone (liner notes), New York City Opera Season Journal, Houston Grand Opera, Central City Opera, Washington National Opera, Playbill Magazine, Stagebill Magazine, Echelon Magazine, and New York Newsday. As a writer and cancer survivor, Kathleen has contributed editorial content to the London-based “Saving Faces” charity, and collaborated with doctors and artists on a range of projects, including an appearance in a BBC-4 special series about facial disfigurement. Formerly an assistant art director in publishing, her rich, varied experience also includes a teaching stint in the Navajo Nation of Arizona. Kathleen has attended the Rhode Island School of Design, Brown University, Brigham Young University (earning a double BFA), with postgraduate studies in operatic performance from Boston University. Kathleen writes from a windswept hay farm in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where she resides with her partner, fifteen chickens, three dogs, and on occasion, their two grown children. Rearranged is Kathleen’s first book. https://www.kathleenwatt.com/
Sarah Adams Hoover was named one of Musical America’s 30 Music Professionals of 2019 for her work linking music and medicine at Johns Hopkins. As the Associate Dean for Innovation in the Arts and Health, Sarah is responsible for advancing initiatives that link the performing arts and health within the Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and entities within the university and Baltimore community. Hoover has advocated for the health of Peabody’s musicians and dancers through development of curriculum and co-curricular programs to prevent injury and optimize performance, facilitated the creation of the Peabody Clinic for Performing Artists, and supported the start-up of a research lab in performance science. Hoover’s research in the field of arts in health has led to the development of bedside and lobby music programs at Johns Hopkins Hospital as well as creative aging residencies and sensory-friendly concerts. She has launched Peabody Prescribe offering arts experiences to support health and well-being developed in collaboration with researchers and clinicians from Johns Hopkins Medicine. Her book, Music as Care: Artistry in the Hospital Environment, is the leading text in training musicians bringing music to clinical contexts. Hoover is a graduate of Yale University and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from Peabody. She received additional training in voice science and holds certificates in Arts in Medicine and Performing Arts Medicine.
