‘Classical Music’s Finest Rum Runner’ — How Grammy-Nominated Soprano Laura Strickling Finds a Vocal Springboard at Her Caribbean Oasis
Laura Strickling. Credit: Alain Brin.
Soprano Laura Strickling joins us on the Classical Post podcast to discuss her Grammy nominated album, Confessions. Calling the U.S. Virgin Islands home, she tells the story of managing a mammoth commissioning project from the Caribbean while in lockdown.
Before the pandemic began, she launched a large undertaking called “The 40@40 Project,” where she commissioned 40 composers to write 40 new works, celebrating her 40th birthday. Even though the pandemic hit right after the project began, creating these new works fed her soul artistically and kept her connected even while live venues were shut. Now, the project is ongoing. More commissions are happening and numerous albums will be released, the first one potentially in early 2023.
The fun takeaway from this episode, though, is how she’s become “classical music's finest rum runner” — according to her own labeling. As one of the Caribbean’s most loved exports, this is a humorous tangent.
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