Lasciatemi morire!

Born in London, Denise studied at the Royal Academy of Music followed by the National Opera Studio. During her time at the Academy, she participated in masterclasses with Janet Backer, Robert Tear, Shirley Verrett, and Joan Hammond. She joined the Glyndebourne Opera chorus in the mid-1980s performing in La Traviata, Porgy & Bess, and made her Glyndebourne principal debut as the Second Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.

Here are highlights from De’Lon’s conversation with The Enormity of Now.

Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Denise Hector. I work in advertising, where I’m an account director.

How did you get here?
I don’t consider myself a professional musician but I am one at heart. I stopped singing because I wasn’t going to have the career that I desired, wanted, and yearned for. I went to the Royal Academy of Music. In hindsight, I didn’t learn much. I wasn’t curious enough. I wasn’t fully rounded. I got more guidance from my peer group than the professors that were musically responsible for me.

Before I went to music college I completed a secretarial course (thanks to my Mum). That saved me whilst I was at college because maintenance grants were cut, and I needed to earn money in the big, wide world.

Glyndebourne was perfect for allowing a young singer to find out about the professional world. That education was invaluable. But after three or four years, I decided to transition out of singing because I wasn’t enjoying it. That’s life. It’s incredibly sad but realistic. At the time I called it a ‘sabbatical,’ which I suppose helped me with the disappointment. I needed to achieve success in a different world. It’s been a long road to do what I’m doing now.

I started as a personal executive secretary and worked my way up. I identified that marketing and communication were similar to music. I was still communicating with people. I could still engage with people. Once I established it was something I could naturally do, I then followed the steps I needed to take to be successful.

How has the journey of your art/career engaged your voice – personally, artistically, politically?
Music is about communication for me – the basics of learning to engage an audience. I’ve taken that across to a new professional field, which then allowed me to upskill and take it to marketing and advertising. And the fact I’m black… I may progress in some ways but not in others. Those barriers are still there in classical music.

What is the voice that you found while finding your voice?
I don’t think I’ve really found my voice. The voice I have now is influenced by my peer group, by my workplace, and by the experiences I’ve suffered, enjoyed, or have traumatised me along the way. My voice is the instrument I was God-given. The other voice is a reflection of me, which will always be a reflection of compromise because of the world we live in.