Soprano finds joy in worldwide performances, teaching in Escondido
By Pat Sherman | pat.sherman@tlnews.net
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Each time Camila Arnold begins an aria, she strives to reach 'the zone' - a place of deep satisfaction where she becomes a conduit for the music, giving life to the words and notes of a libretto.
Sitting on a piano bench at her Escondido music studio, Arnold recalled once losing herself while performing 'The Lord's Prayer' at the Self-Realization Fellowship in San Diego. She occasionally practices meditation at Self-Realizaion temples in Encinitas and San Diego.
'It's very rewarding,' Arnold said of her craft. 'In a sense, it's like meditation. It's almost like going out of your body.'
Arnold's idol, Greek soprano Maria Callas, was a frequent visitor to the zone. During the second act of the opera 'Tosca', Callas backed against a candelabra, and her wig caught fire.
'She was so into character singing her aria that she didn't even notice,' said Arnold, 38, of Escondido. 'Now that, to me, is the ultimate artist.'
Three cultures, one voice
Arnold's artistic flame has pilot lights in three continents. Born in Santiago, Chile, her family moved to Germany when she was an infant.
Today, Arnold's parents, Peter and Ilse, reside in Valley Center, and her sister, Lorena, lives in Carlsbad. To an outsider, the mix of languages spoken at family gatherings can make following a conversation like viewing a Gilbert and Sullivan opera.
'My parents will talk in Spanish to each other and my dad will speak only German to us kids,' Arnold said. 'My mom will talk to me in Spanish and I will answer back in German. It's so intertwined, I can't even remember if she spoke to me in Spanish, English or German.'
Arnold's great-great-grandfather, Oswald Aichel, was the first to leave Germany for Chile, where he practiced medicine.
Arnold's mother was born in Chile and her father, a civil engineer, was raised in Germany.
'For five generations now we have been doing the Chile-U.S.A.-Germany triangle,' Arnold said.
In 1939, at the onset of World War II, Arnold's father left Germany for Chile with her grandparents.
'They were not Jewish, but my grandfather ... was associated with Jewish intellectuals,' Arnold said. 'Both my grandparents worked at the Schauspielhaus theater in Munich. ... That kind of association put him in high danger.'
Arnold received classical piano training at a conservatory in Erlangen, Germany. At 15, she studied voice with Argentinean contralto Norma Lerer in Nuremberg, Germany. She attributes her passion to her Chilean heritage, and her technique to her German tutelage.
'The German education gave me the discipline, the scientific knowledge and the work ethic,' she said. 'My mom's influence (gave me) the passion, the devotion, the sweetness ... that Latin zest for life.'
In Germany, a country steeped in musical heritage, it is often difficult for an artist to emerge from the shadow of canonized composers, such as Johannes Brahms and Wilhelm Richard Wagner, Arnold said. 'The history sometimes can be oppressive,' she said. 'It's very hard to break through. ... Here in America (there's a) spirit of 'no limitations' and a sense of freedom.'
As an artist, Arnold hopes to share that musical freedom with Viennese musicians and composers. She is co-founder of the Los Angeles-based Austrian California Society of Music, which seeks to encourage new works by Austrian composers through concerts in the United States and Europe.
'Some of those Viennese composers come here regularly,' Arnold said.
'America, being a younger country, there's more openness, and it's easier to work here, I find, because people aren't maybe as grave.'
Lightness of spirit
In her early 20s, Arnold left Germany for Los Angeles, where she joined the ashram at the Self-Realization Fellowship headquarters. There, she further honed her craft, singing inspirational songs with the monks and nuns (a favorite included 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain' from 'The Sound of Music'). The six years she spent focusing on spiritual growth helped ground Arnold's inner diva, she said.
'As a performer, it's all about you. ... With the ashram training, it gave me structure (and) balance,' she said.
In 1998, Arnold moved to Escondido, resuming her music studies at Palomar College. She teaches piano and voice at B&H Music in Escondido, and is musical director for Arts Off Broadway children's theater at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
Arts Off Broadway President Marie Verger said Arnold's mentorship has elevated the quality of performances.
'When we want to focus on training (students) in certain harmonies or certain melodies, we send them over to her,' Verger said. 'She's a wonderful voice teacher.'
As a girl, Arnold didn't aspire to teach. She grew to love mentoring after leaving the ashram.
'I had a strong desire to sing and I still have that, but now I balance that with teaching,' she said. 'Working with children to me is just very healing and grounding.'
Arnold occasionally performs in an opera recital series at Galerie D'Art International in Solana Beach. Her next performance at the gallery is in September.
She frequently travels to Vienna, Austria, for performances with the Austrian Society of Music. Last month, she was a featured soloist there, performing compositions by Gerhard Track and others. While performing in Vienna is satisfying, Arnold always welcomes a return to Escondido.
'When I go to Vienna I work for some of the best musicians there and it's so enriching, but I always look forward to coming back,' she said. 'Even flying into LAX - such a messy place - I feel the lightness. There's the palm trees; the sun is shining. I've almost forgotten how happy people can be.'
This newspaper Article appeared in the TODAY'S LOCAL NEWS (Inland, Escondido and San Marcos) on Thursday, May 24th, 2007 and in THE SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE on Sunday, May 27th 2007.