Caitlin Quisenberry – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, the country artist, Caitlin Quisenberry, talks about the story of her first experience with live music. You can check out the story, after the break.

The setting of my very first concert was as magnificent as the artist who performed. It took place on a warm summer night in Italy. More specifically, in the open-air amphitheater called Teatro del Silenzio (English: Theater of Silence) in the Tuscan city of Lajatico, where the world’s most beloved tenor is from, none-other-than, Andrea Bocelli. I went with my family; dad, mom, and my brother, Cole. I was just a teenager but knew his music well.

At the time, my passion for singing was in full swing. So, my dad emailed someone who worked for Bocelli and told them we would be at his concert and that his daughter loves singing Bocelli’s music and asked if I could go up on stage to sing with him. If you know my dad, this is actually normal for him to do something like this. He thinks and dreams big – that’s where I get it! Needless to say, that email was never answered, but we enjoyed the most magical night of Bocelli’s angelic voice under the starry sky.

Bocelli had the amphitheater built in his hometown of Lajatico in 2003. It fits perfectly into the surrounding landscape of wide-open spaces and rolling hills. It’s adorned with unusual giant sculptures. When we were there, I remember seeing an enormous white stone sculpture of a bald man crouching down. It was towering over the musicians and seemed to be looking down onto the stage. We got there early so we could walk around and enjoy everything before it got dark and the concert started. As fun as it was to be there that night, I now have an even greater appreciation for where we were and who we got to hear sing. I didn’t know this back then but later found out that Bocelli performs a one-night concert annually in July, then the theater is silent the rest of the year.

That night was so impactful in my life. It ended up giving me an even greater appreciation for opera and classical music, so much so that I ended up studying vocal performance and sang classical, acapella, and opera in several different languages at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. During my sophomore year, I studied abroad in Lausanne, Switzerland with a renowned opera singer, Karine Mkrtchyan. I then got the opportunity to go abroad to sing in Prague and Italy. I believe these opportunities are what gave me my unique sound as a country artist. I’m a country artist with classical training – not your typical route into my genre.

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