… Robin Read’s Performers Add Joy to the Christmas Season
Everyone in the tiny town in upper New York state knew little Robin. In elementary school, she decided to be a singer. Family encouraged her. At age 13 she trotted off to the Seagle Music Colony, the oldest summer vocal training program in the United States, probably the youngest person to attend this program. Here, she learned about set building, make up, costuming and took part in plays, musicals and operas.
When she graduated from high school in the largest class ever (33 students), she found a path to Texas, as she hated snow. While attending Texas Christian University she majored in Music Performance and continued to build her performance and production skills . Voice and performance brought attention from renown artists and professors.
Her Journey
Robin Read’s history, rich with stories of success, delivers a message of hard work, business savvy and gutsiness. Immediately after college, she married a photographer who taught her the importance of accounting, operations, along with the mechanics and dynamics of photography.
Divorced after 15 years of marriage, she returned to her dreams. At her first audition after her hiatus she pretended confidence with fear rumbling in her stomach. She won the role, leading to admiration from many in the industry with her peppy personality, acting ability and technical talent. Her theatrical acumen kept her busy with minor and leading film roles. She’s been on the same set with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn and starred as the leading lady for many theatrical performances. Robin’s entrepreneurial spirit led to voice-overs, commercials, television, film and theater, preventing any “starving artist” experiences.
Robin Buys Holiday Cheer Entertainment
About 20 years ago she joined a singing group, Holiday Cheer Entertainment company, with other trained
singers who perform during the holidays for tree lightings, corporate parties, elevator lobbies, and other venues. Sometimes they sang at elegant, private, holiday parties. Other times they sang outdoors, waiting in the wind and weather for Santa to arrive.
Four years ago the lady who founded the Dallas based group decided to sell. When she asked Robin to purchase the group, Robin thought, Work from home? Flexible schedule? Singing gigs? Christmas joy and cheer for others? Remarkable Robin took the risk.
She loves holiday music, customizing each performance on the spot. For example, if the crowd resonates with children’s laughter, they quickly switch from “Silent Night” to “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”
During the holiday season, life becomes overwhelming, as she is a control freak, a big reason for her success. Before she signs a contract to send a group (usually three to eight singers), the individuals must commit to the event. She chooses the specialized singers based on personality, location, and type of event. Customers return year after year because of her consistent attention to detail.
Off Season
In the off season the singers continue to meet, but not as often. Since she participates in the groups, she understands singing “White Christmas” can cause frigid fingers. She has lined the capes they wear and added hoods. They wear gloves. Who knew owning the group would require her expertise in sewing? She copes with the myriad of staffing issues, such as the mom with a teenager who was rear-ended on the highway, recent divorces, and sudden bouts of laryngitis. She indicated, “My singers are like family. Most of us have been together for years.” She hires, coordinates the schedules, bills the clients, pays the singers, and warms cold hands. She upgrades costumes during the summer, storing them in a special room in her home.
The Rewards
Although her singing groups are paid, it’s not the money that keeps them singing to hustling crowds. The joy she and her singers see as the crowds sing with them, whose faces reflect memories from long ago, and the wide-eyed children which fills the crisp air with cheer. When she chose singing for a career, she had no expectations for the rich rewards she would find bringing holiday happiness to crowds.
Watch for her at a tree lighting or on a street corner with her classically trained, enthusiastic choirs or quartets in their Victorian costumes. Like her on FaceBook Holiday Cheer Entertainment or visit her website to see upcoming events and watch her upcoming company growth. She is adding weddings, birthdays, and other holidays to the repertoire in the future.
The world offers opportunity in the arts for jobs and businesses; however, it takes long hours, hard work, risk taking, revenue building, and talent. Robin Read and Holiday Cheer Entertainment demonstrate careers in singing are possible, but it doesn’t happen without passion and performance. Being an accomplished singer is not enough. A singer without performance is like a writer without readers.