Pennsylvania opera singer Jarrett Ott talks about his Grammy nomination and love for Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The 66th annual Grammy Awards airs this Sunday on CBS Philadelphia, recognizing the best in the music industry. One of the nominees hopeful to win studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Center City.
Jarrett Ott talked about his nomination and his love for the city where he refined his voice.
Josh: "What goes through your mind when you perform?"
Ott: "You are just trying to think what this person would say in that moment in time and try and convey a character that is sometimes completely opposite from who I am."
Ott is a voice to be reckoned with. His performance in John Corigliano's "Lord of Cries," a mashup of Dracula and Greek mythology as the madhouse master, John Seward, earned the baritone his first-ever Grammy nomination.
"Having the opportunity to just even be recognized and all the hard work that we all put in," Ott said. "If something were like this to happen, it would mean so much to me and kind of show all the hard work that went into creating that piece. The hours spent practicing and learning."
He learned to hone his powerful voice at the Curtis Institute of Music earning his masters in 2014.
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Josh: "What's it like being back here at Curtis in Philadelphia?"
Ott: "I have been to many cities around the world and lived in different cities and Philadelphia, no matter what, I always come back here and I immediately feel right at home."
The Penn Argl native has performed in front of thousands including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who married Ott and his husband.
"Knowing that she's in the audience, it's pretty terrifying but she loves it so much and it was her escape and she showed up to so many different opera companies," Ott said. "She really, really cared about musicians and about humans and who we were as a couple."
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Win or lose, Ott said his nomination represents a new chapter in his career one where he hopes to inspire future opera performers.
"We want this beautiful art form to go on forever and finding that next generation, I think that is now what I will maybe start shifting my focus to -- of pulling them into this beautiful world of classical music and opera," he said.
