Bristol native hits high note, will sing with Chattanooga Symphony & Opera

BY LAURA J. MONDUL | SPECIAL TO THE HERALD COURIER

Music has always struck a cord with 20-year-old Hannah Dishman of Bristol, Va. This young singer, who is attending her freshman year at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, will be singing as guest soloist for the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera’s “Home for the Holidays” concert at the Tivoli Theatre on Saturday and Sunday in Chattanooga.

The opportunity was something of a twist of fate for Dishman, whose grandfather had often spoken of her singing talent to her third cousin, Don Pippin, a conductor in New York. Dishman’s grandfather recently sent a DVD of one of her performances to Pippin.

“I was so impressed with the fabulous instrument she has for someone so young,” Pippin said. “That she is so accomplished at such a young age – she really knocked me out.”

Shortly after receiving the DVD, Pippin was contacted by the Chattanooga symphony officials to serve as guest conductor for their holiday performance, and they happened to mention that they were lacking a solo singer. So Pippin, who had never even met Dishman, suggested using her in the concert.

“It’s phenomenal where she is for her age,” Pippin said. “She’s years ahead of her peers. I was so impressed with her voice. I’m very much an admirer of her work without even having met her.”

No stranger to great talents, Pippin has been the recipient of Emmy and Tony awards, was music director for the famed Radio City Music Hall for 14 years, has conducted Broadway shows all over the country and has also conducted abroad. He has put together a Christmas medley for Dishman to sing at the Chattanooga symphony concert.

“For someone my age to sing a solo with an orchestra is kind of unheard of,” Dishman said. “I am very excited about the concert. They are flying me down there and putting me up in a fancy hotel – I’ve never been treated like this.”

Dishman grew up on her family farm in Bristol, Va., which she said has since been developed and now houses the Home Depot at Bristol’s Exit 7. She has always loved music and has been singing for nine years. She started out playing folk guitar and singing, and did her first performances at Java J’s in Bristol, Va. At ages 14 and 15, she and her friend Allison Waugh performed at Bristol’s Rhythm and Roots Reunion as the folk duo Shapeless Steel. In the past year, she started writing country music, which is being edited and recorded in Bristol.

To date, she has written five songs.

“I only write when it’s going to be really good,” Dishman said. “If I start writing and I think it’s going to be mediocre, I stop.”

This year, Dishman enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where she has received a full scholarship through the Birgit Nilsson Foundation. She said she was shocked to receive the scholarship, as she didn’t even apply for it. Furthermore, she is the only freshman to get the scholarship.

“I have a passion for every aspect of music, whether it’s country or classical,” Dishman said. “Being surrounded by creative and artistic people has pushed me harder and has made me excel far beyond where I thought I would.”

The Chattanooga performance will be Dishman’s second major opera role. This past summer, she traveled to Rome, Italy, to sing the mezzo soprano part of Prince Orlossky in the opera “Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss II. Dishman auditioned for the part in the United States, then flew to Rome where she studied for three weeks before the performance, though she said she didn’t really get to experience Rome because she rehearsed for 10 hours a day.

“What was really difficult was we had to sing in German, but the dialogue was in Italian, so I had to speak Italian with a Russian accent,” Dishman said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to do opera until after that first performance. It was so exhilarating – opera is definitely my passion and what I’m called to do.”

As for her future goals, Dishman wants to write country music – a task she said is difficult in New York City, where she feels the environment is not conducive to writing in that genre. She also has set lofty goals for her performing career, which she feels is her real calling in life.

“I want to be a world class singer,” she said.

This summer, she set a goal that within five years, she hopes to perform with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, an objective she is well on her way to achieving.

“Vocally, she’s got it,” Pippin said. “The audiences are going to adore her. All I can say is, you’d better get to know Hannah now, while you can still afford the tickets.”