Meet Alyssa Bonsi, one of our very talented Crew members! Alyssa put down the cello to focus on singing and has brought her beautiful vocals to Fuse. She has been a chorus member in many of Fuse’s programming, such as The Gondoliers and Hansel & Gretel: The Movie. Intrigued by her love for singing and musical instruments, we sat down with her to find out more about her art journey before and during her time at Fuse. Keep reading to find out more!
Tell us about yourself!
Here are some facts about me: I am 24. I am a dual citizen (Italian citizen through my father who is an immigrant). Heterochromia runs in my family. I am learning to play the ocarina. My favourite music to sing is Romantic and 20th-century music.
What is your main arts discipline and how long have you been a part of it?
My main discipline is vocals. I was always a musical child and started taking lessons and being part of theatre groups at the age of 10. Then I went to Eastwood for their arts program and now I have a Bachelor of Music (Performance) from Western and am currently planning my Master's auditions. Recently, I’ve been very honoured to receive 1st place in grade 10 vocals and the Most Promising Award at NATS 2020, the Classical Vocal Trophy at the Kitchener Kiwanis 2021 competition, and an Honourable Mention at OMFA 2021 in the level 10 class.
Tell us a little bit about your Fuse arts journey! How did you end up at Fuse?
I joined Fuse 6 months into the pandemic. I am used to constantly being surrounded by musicians and performers, always being in or seeing other’s performances. Suddenly it all stopped, first because of COVID-19 and then because I graduated and moved back home. I felt really directionless and didn’t know anybody in Waterloo that was part of the arts besides my voice teacher. We sat down and discussed options in the Waterloo Region and one of the opportunities she mentioned was Fuse. I looked into it and reached out to Dylan, our Executive Director, and now I’ve been a part of the group for a year. Fuse helped me feel connected to the arts again.
What has been your favourite memory/experience with Fuse?
My favourite experience with Fuse so far was my first day with the group. One of the projects they had worked on previously was composing an original piece called Earth. On the schedule, I saw that the chorus was supposed to be recording this, and I didn’t know if that included me since I had just joined, but I showed up anyway. Turns out they weren’t expecting me, but Dylan, our Executive Director, was super nice and introduced me to everyone, and made me feel so welcome. It was just a really nice experience to be with a group of people singing again after months of being alone and not feeling like a musician anymore.
What are three words to describe Fuse?
Supportive, vibrant, enthusiastic.
What do you want the community to know about Fuse?
I want the community to know that Fuse is full of passionate and dedicated people that love what they do. The group is so collaborative (even with all the restrictions) and everyone I’ve met here has this great positive energy about them.
Has your experience creating art with Fuse changed due to the need to shift to COVID-19-compliant, socially-distanced alternatives? If so, how have you adapted?
I joined Fuse after the pandemic had already started so I’ve only experienced it with its social distancing measures. Having to practice completely on my own has been weird for me because I really enjoy group rehearsals (it's also odd not being able to hear what everyone else would sound like). But the team has done a great job to supplement rehearsals with tracks and conductor's videos. I’m also super thankful to Roland for handling all the recording work because I am horrible with technology.
What do you hope to bring to the community through your work with Fuse? What are some ways you think the inter-arts positively affects our community?
I just hope to make it feel like a community again. People have been practically alone for more than a year now and I think everyone is missing that connection a lot of us took for granted before. The beautiful thing about music is that it is universal no matter the language or time it’s from and I think that makes it a pretty powerful tool in bringing people together again.
What about the inter-arts are you most passionate about?
Music is my most practiced discipline in the arts, but really I love storytelling in general. I feel that singing/playing roles make me a more empathetic person in my life because I get to experience the lives of other people. What I feel music brings to storytelling is honesty. It is impossible for me not to feel something when I sing, whether it was the intended emotion the composer was going for or not. As a quieter person in my everyday life, it is strangely freeing to sing emotions I’m usually not comfortable sharing with a group of strangers. It makes me feel seen and I hope it can do that for other people too.
It’s crew members such as Alyssa and their passion for the arts that makes it possible for us to bring community to the arts and vice versa. We are grateful for her time and dedication, and hope to see her perform in many more Fuse programming to come! Catch Alyssa in one of our future productions, Orpheus in the Underworld! Interested in finding out more about our programs? Click here to find out more!