Happy Sunshine Thursday Everyone!
Continuing on my string of interviews, it is my pleasure and honor to share with you... multi-award winning, beautiful and talented Josephine Sanges.
For those of you who don't know Josephine, here is a little information to get you started:
Josephine Sanges, Winner of the 2019 MAC Award for best female vocalist, 2018 La Mott/ Friedman Recording Award for Finding Beauty, and recipient of the 2017 Margaret Whiting Award, Josephine Sanges has taken the cabaret world by storm. In addition to singing at clubs in NYC, she has been a guest artist at the Mabel Mercer Foundation's Cabaret Convention performing at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and Rose Hall at Lincoln Center.
"When a vocalist comes along with a strikingly rich and radiant voice…PLUS can do the connecting with the listener by personalizing the material, that’s when you have…well, someone like Josephine Sanges.” - Nitelife Exchange
My first encounter with the beautiful Josephine Sanges was at a MAC open mic. Her angelic voice stole my heart as did all the other "Together" ladies that I am featuring this Spring! She is warm, sweet and kind. Such a wonderful part of this cabaret community that I've come to see as family.
For the interview, I asked Josephine the following questions:
1) Can you share with us a couple of interesting facts that most people don’t know about you?
I love to make pottery. It's a relatively new hobby that I've become very passionate about. I also love gardening. I guess you can say, I like to play in the mud!
2) What fuel your passion for music and performance? How did you discover your passion for it all and realized that it was what you wanted to do?
I've been singing as long as I can remember but was always extremely shy about doing it for anyone else to hear. I can remember watching television and singing along with Shirley Temple, wishing I could "be her" in all of those movies. Later on it was Judy Garland I most wanted to emulate.
3) Do you have a particularly interesting story about your musical journey that you'd like to share with the readers?
I didn't sing in public until I was 15 years old. I was dragged into the church choir by my childhood friend, Lori Nagel. It's where I was "bit by the bug" doing community theater in shows such as "The Sound of Music," "West Side Story," "Oliver," "Man of La Mancha," and then, later on, "Funny Girl." I've met and worked with many talented people over the years, accompanists and singers, mainly in the church world. In fact, through mutual connections, it's where I met John. He encouraged me to stretch myself "beyond the hymnal" and, that's when the cabaret branch of my life began to grow.
4) What is your "go to" before a show? It can be a routine, physical or mental space.
I try to remind myself that I've "done the work," reassuring myself that the show "lives" inside of me and that everything will be "OK."
5) Share with us what you have in the pipeline for us to be on the lookout for!
I'll be at the Beach Café on July 12th where I'm hoping to give a sneak preview of my upcoming show which we'll present sometime later in the fall. The new show will be centered around the many men in my life that have influenced me along the way, our current working title, THE MEN! And, on August 19th, Eugene Ebner and I are coming together to perform a show at The Clock tower Cabaret in his hometown of Denver, Colorado. We're calling it LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND.
Are you all getting more excited with each interview? I know I AM! I cant wait! COME NEXT WEDNESDAY WITH YOU SONG AND EXPERIENCE THESE WONDERFUL LADIES! I GUARANTEE YOU WONT REGRET IT!!
Stay tuned for two more interviews!! COMING SOON!
UNTIL THEN, MY LOVE AND LIGHT TO ALL OF YOU!