a glimpse into the past

in the late ’70s and early ’80s i studied voice with stewart brady, the voice teacher at the american conservatory theater (a.c.t.) in san francisco.

a family friend was an opera singer who provided me with an introduction; i studied with stewart for a little over eight years. i knew that stewart had taught kathryn crosby (wife of bing), met the king of england (george vi), and been a child prodigy. i only recently discovered that he sang at the opening of grauman’s chinese theater, los angeles, in 1927, and was singing in front of 10,000 people at a time by the time he was 10.

he lived in presidio heights, in san francisco, in a jackson street mansion he had inherited from his parents. the music room was unbelievable… probably 60′ long and 30′ wide, with a piano on a stage at the far end, against the wall with the organ pipes (!). he would sit at the piano, looking like a cross between yoda and friar tuck; i would stand on the stage, next the the piano. he knew i was a rocker (as opposed to classical singer or actor), but was always supportive, and a friend; in some ways, the lessons were more like mutual therapy sessions. he died of colon cancer a few years after i stopped see him.

i think of him often, as he gave me my piano (it come out of the room to the left of the piano in the photo)… he told me that no one knew how his father had got the piano in that room, as the doorway was very narrow, and that if i could get it out i could have it. i had that thing out of there in no time flat, and have had it ever since! i was at a.c.t. the other night, and noticed that one of the actors had won the ‘stewart brady competition’. some intermission googling brought up more of stewart’s history, and, of all things, a photo of the music room. i’ve tried over the years to convey how stunning it was, but the picture trumps any possible description. the house apparently sold for $3.5 million in 2010.